MOUNT VERNON – Democrats who spent $1,731,670.25 on a pair of Fifth District appellate court races two years ago haven’t come close to matching that support for current candidate Kevin Hoerner.
A committee like one that spent $1 million for Jo Beth Weber and Joseph Bleyer in 2016 – Fair Courts Now – sprang up for Hoerner, but hasn’t followed through as of Oct. 30.
Leaders of four law firms formed the committee supporting Hoerner – Fair Judicial Alliance – on Sept. 1.
They put up $50,000, spent $15,000, and reported no further activity.
Hoerner’s own campaign committee has raised more money than Bleyer’s did, but far less than Weber, especially in the final weeks.
In October 2016, Weber had received $32,400 from lawyers at Maune Raichle, $29,600 from lawyers in John Simmons’s firm, and $9,500 from lawyers in Randy Gori’s firm.
She received $5,400 from lawyer Evan Buxner, $3,000 from former Madison County chief judge Ann Callis of Mark Goldenberg’s firm, $3,000 from Stephen Tillery’s firm, and $2,000 from the Armbruster Dripps firm.
She received $10,000 from the Power Rogers Smith firm, $5,000 from lawyers at Cooney and Conway, and $4,500 from those at Bob Clifford’s firm, all in Chicago.
The Bailey Peavey firm in Houston sent Weber $4,050.
The faucets of the firms opened still wider for Weber in November 2016.
She received $70,200 through Simmons, $31,600 through Gori, $7,900 through Maune Raichle, $5,400 each from Tom Keefe’s firm and the Napoli Shkolnick firm, and $3,000 from the Walton Telken Foster firm.
For the year, Weber spent $485,885.87 from her campaign treasury.
She also received half the benefit of Fair Judicial Alliance expenditures, which added up to $1,057,872.78.
The alliance created media messages attacking candidates John Barberis and Randy Moore.
Bleyer received the other half of the benefit and spent $187,911.59 on his own.
They both lost.
Hoerner’s campaign has amounted to a fraction of their action.
This year, through Sept. 30, his committee spent $137,946.82.
He began the fourth quarter with $78,354.18 in his treasury.
In October, he received $48,100 in 26 contributions of $1,000 or more.
No one at the Simmons firm or Maune Raichle gave him $1,000.
Tillery’s firm gave him $8,600.
Hoerner’s next biggest contribution, $3,000, came from the laborers union.
Gori Julian, Goldenberg Heller, and the Weilmuenster Keck firm each provided $2,500.
Hoerner’s opponent, Justice David Overstreet, spent $30,295.68 through Sept. 30.