Politics & Government
Who Is Giving Money to Donald Trump in Illinois?
Trump says he's self-funding his presidential campaign. Still, he's raised $47,000 in Illinois. Here's a look at The Donald's donors.
Trump says he’s self funding his own campaign, a point he emphasizes often in his speeches and during debates, to make clear that he’s beholden to no special interest or corporate entity. He’s put $17.7 million into his campaign fund, according to Federal Election Commission records.
To “make America great again,” Trump doesn’t need money from average citizens. And yet, the GOP front runner has raised $7.4 million from individual donors around the country.
Various products on his website are offered for sale at Shop Trump for President:
- the Make America Great Again cap sells for $30
- a Trump bumper stickers, including Veterans for Trump, go for $5
- the Team Trump women’s t-shirt is $25
Dozens of Illinoisans have contributed a little more than $47,000 to Trump’s campaign. The smallest donation is just $5. Six Illinois residents have donated less than $50, according to the FEC.
These small-dollar donors (with occupation and hometown) include:
- Carlton Marcyan, attorney, Lake Forest: $5
- Brian Cutler, retired, Long Grove: $27.49
- Chris Sherwin, Naperville police officer, Plainfield: $31.46
- Trudy Bryant, retired, Columbia: $32.35
- Brennan Miller, Charles Schwab manager, Evanston: $32.35
- Shirley Hurley, retired, Sheffield: $37.49
Everyone else left in the GOP race has outraised Trump in Illinois, with Marco Rubio pulling in $833,000, Ted Cruz raising $676,000, Ben Carson raising $583,000 and John Kasich $274,000. On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton has amassed $4.1 million from Illinoisans and Bernie Sanders just over $1 million. (More than 8,000 donations were posted for Clinton, and more than 13,000 were recorded for Sanders.)
Where is Trump spending? His campaign promised that media buys will be ramping up in the coming months. Prior to February, according to Politico:
He’s spent only $12.4 million (from mid-June to January), with $6.9 million of that coming in the last three months of the year, according to his FEC report.
A significant portion of that, $940,000, was spent on campaign paraphernalia, including yard signs, bumper stickers, buttons, t-shirts and, of course, hats. In fact, about $450,000 ― or nearly 7 percent of all Trump’s fourth-quarter spending ― went towards hats, presumably including the now-iconic hats bearing Trump’s campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again.”
More Information
But the Trump donors are a curious lot. Who gives to a man who says he doesn’t need your money? Here are the public campaign donor records found on FEC.gov.
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