The latest Rauner contribution comes as a coalition of public employee unions and the Democratic Governors Association disclosed another $905,000 to their anti-Rauner political action committee.
Rauner, a Winnetka businessman who is perhaps the wealthiest candidate ever to run for public office in Illinois, has now raised $14 million ahead of the March 18 primary election — far and away eclipsing the combined money-raising efforts of Republican rivals state Sens. Bill Brady of Bloomington and Kirk Dillard of Hinsdale and state Treasurer Dan Rutherford of Chenoa.
The previous record for personal money in an Illinois governor race came in 2006, when Chicago businessman Ron Gidwitz and his wife donated $5.3 million only to lose the primary election. Still, Rauner has a ways to go to top the U.S. Senate bids of Blair Hull, who spent $28.6 million of his own money to lose the 2004 Democratic primary to Barack Obama, and Peter Fitzgerald, who spent nearly $12 million from his own pocket to win in 1998.