EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. (Legal Newsline) – Despite receiving tens of thousands of dollars from asbestos attorneys, former Madison County judge Ann Callis failed to outraise U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Illinois, in the third quarter.
Callis stepped down from a 19-year career on the bench last year to make a bid for Illinois’ 13th Congressional District.
Campaign finance reports, made public by the Federal Election Commission on Wednesday, show Callis raised more than $400,000 in the third quarter - $163,000 less than her Republican rival, Davis.
Heading into the final weeks of the election, Davis, as of Sept. 30, had more than $1.2 million left in his war chest, giving him the edge in reserve funds with Callis maintaining $545,881.01 cash on hand at the end of the reporting period.
An examination of the candidates’ campaign reports show while Davis continues to rely on political action committees for financial support, individuals - especially individuals whose occupation is listed as attorney - supply the majority of Callis’ funds.
By the end of June, attorneys for the Simmons Law Firm, an Alton-based firm specializing in asbestos litigation, had pumped $35,850 into Callis’ coffers.
Simmons Law Firm attorneys continued their financial backing in the third quarter, accounting for $27,300 of Callis’ $400,000 in contributions, or 14 percent, campaign finance records show.
Attorneys for Gori, Julian & Associates in Edwardsville contributed $500 in the third quarter, bringing their total for the year to $10,900.
In all, 152 attorneys contributed to Callis from the start of July to the end of September.
PAC funding continues to be a staple of Davis’ funding, accounting for nearly 60 percent of his total funding this election cycle.
The freshman representative raised $563,984.43 in the third quarter, with more than half that amount, $333,284.43, coming from PACs.
“Today’s fundraising disclosures again show that Judge Callis is running a campaign fueled by individuals and families while Congressman Davis is overwhelmingly supported by the corporations and special interests that benefit from his voting record,” David Miyashiro, a Callis spokesman, said in a Wednesday statement.
Reach David Yates at elections@legalnewsline.com