2026 race · follow the money
Illinois U.S. House District 17
3 filings report $3.0M raised, and outside groups reported $166 in independent spending for or against them. Compare where each campaign's money came from and who spent to help or hurt it.
The count.
Checking the election sources…
Side by side.
Raised excludes transfers between a candidate's own committees. Shares are of that total. Filings appear in order of money raised; this includes primary candidates who are no longer running.
| Candidate | Raised | Individuals | PACs | Own money | Spent | Cash | Outside for | Outside against |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eric SorensenDemocrat · Filed as incumbent | $2.6M | 58% | 40% | 0% | $1.5M | $1.3M | $166 | — |
| Dillan VancilRepublican · Filed as challenger | $406K | 92% | 4% | 4% | $374K | $52K | — | — |
| Julie BickelhauptRepublican · Filed as challenger | $82K | 86% | 0.4% | 13% | $82K | $0 | — | — |
Who spent from outside.
The largest independent spenders in this race, summed from each candidate's five largest spenders on each side.
- GIVEGREEN UNITED ACTION$156 for Eric Sorensen
- SIERRA CLUB INDEPENDENT ACTION$10 for Eric Sorensen
Each campaign.
Sitting member of Congress · Eric Sorensen
In the U.S. House (IL-17) since 2023 · current term ends Jan 3, 2027
- Recorded yea or nay on 24 of the 24 key House floor votes captured in Hugin's snapshot
- 2 committees: Agriculture, Armed Services · 4 subcommittees
- 259 committees reported contributions to them this cycle · 2 committees reported outside spending for or against them
Linked to this filing by its exact FEC candidate ID (H2IL17147) in the congress-legislators roster of Oct 21, 2026. Votes are one key floor vote per bill on bills named in contractor lobbying reports (Oct 29, 2026); committee seats are the roster as of Oct 24, 2026; money counts are FEC reports for 2026 as of Oct 24, 2026. These are what Hugin's snapshots captured, not complete records, and none of them is a score or evidence of motive.
- Raised
- $2.6M
- Spent
- $1.5M
- Cash on hand
- $1.3M
- Individuals 58% $1.5M
- PACs & other committees 40% $1.0M
- Other receipts 2% $47K
Campaign totals through Oct 14, 2026. Excludes $96K moved between the candidate's own committees.
Outside groups: $166 supporting · $0 opposing
Biggest spenders supporting
Largest direct PAC contributions
- CARPENTERS LEGISLATIVE IMPROVEMENT COMMITTEE UNITED BROTHERHOOD OF CARPENTERS AND JOINERS $10K
- MACHINISTS NON PARTISAN POLITICAL LEAGUE OF THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MACHINISTS & AEROSPACE WORKERS $10K
- INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SHEET METAL, AIR, RAIL AND TRANSPORTATION WORKERS POLITICAL ACTION LEAGUE $10K
Where the money went $941K in itemized spending
These itemized payments cover $941K of the $1.5M the campaign reported spending through Oct 14, 2026. The FEC has not yet itemized the rest in its bulk file, which runs to Jun 30, 2026.
- Advertising & outreach 13% $119K
- Consultants & strategy 13% $122K
- Staff & payroll 28% $263K
- Fundraising & processing fees 22% $203K
- Polling, research & data 7% $65K
- Travel, meals & events 3% $30K
- Office, technology & overhead 4% $42K
- Legal & compliance 10% $94K
- Contributions, transfers & refunds 0.1% $1,392
- Other or unclassified 0.2% $1,460
Largest payees
- GUSTO $263K
- THE FROST GROUP $139K
- WESTWEST DIGITAL $129K
- AMHC $67K
- HART RESEARCH ASSOCIATES $47K
Paid to individuals: $8,777, such as staff, contractors and reimbursements. People who were paid are not named here.
Payments dated Jan 2, 2025 to Jun 30, 2026, as itemized by the principal campaign committee in FEC reports (644 entries). Every payment on FEC.gov ↗
Grouped by each campaign's own description of the payment, so the groups are approximate. Payments of $200 or less to one payee need not be itemized, detail filed only as memo entries counts under other or unclassified, and spending by the candidate's other committees or by outside groups is not included. A payment is not evidence of a favor or wrongdoing.
- Raised
- $406K
- Spent
- $374K
- Cash on hand
- $52K
- Debts
- $13K
- Individuals 92% $372K
- PACs & other committees 4% $17K
- Candidate's own money & loans 4% $17K
- Other receipts 0.2% $955
Campaign totals through Oct 14, 2026.
No independent expenditures for or against this filing are itemized in the bulk file.
Largest direct PAC contributions
Where the money went $254K in itemized spending
These itemized payments cover $254K of the $374K the campaign reported spending through Oct 14, 2026. The FEC has not yet itemized the rest in its bulk file, which runs to Jun 30, 2026.
- Advertising & outreach 60% $151K
- Consultants & strategy 6% $16K
- Fundraising & processing fees 4% $11K
- Travel, meals & events 9% $21K
- Office, technology & overhead 7% $18K
- Legal & compliance 13% $33K
- Contributions, transfers & refunds 1% $2,620
- Other or unclassified 0.5% $1,190
Largest payees
- CAMPAIGN EAGLE $36K
- PROFESSIONAL DATA SERVICES $33K
- CANDIDATE MOM, LLC $31K
- TRAILMAPPER $28K
- IMPERATOR $28K
Paid to individuals: $22K, such as staff, contractors and reimbursements. People who were paid are not named here.
Payments dated Jan 6, 2025 to Jun 30, 2026, as itemized by the principal campaign committee in FEC reports (316 entries). Every payment on FEC.gov ↗
Grouped by each campaign's own description of the payment, so the groups are approximate. Payments of $200 or less to one payee need not be itemized, detail filed only as memo entries counts under other or unclassified, and spending by the candidate's other committees or by outside groups is not included. A payment is not evidence of a favor or wrongdoing.
- Raised
- $82K
- Spent
- $82K
- Cash on hand
- $0
- Debts
- $5,249
- Individuals 86% $71K
- PACs & other committees 0.4% $300
- Candidate's own money & loans 13% $11K
- Other receipts 0.1% $92
Campaign totals through Jul 1, 2026.
No independent expenditures for or against this filing are itemized in the bulk file.
Largest direct PAC contributions
Where the money went $79K in itemized spending
- Advertising & outreach 6% $4,341
- Consultants & strategy 73% $57K
- Fundraising & processing fees 5% $4,185
- Travel, meals & events 9% $6,833
- Legal & compliance 2% $1,820
- Other or unclassified 5% $4,231
Largest payees
- ARENA LLC $35K
- THE DUNLOE GROUP $11K
- STRIVE STRATEGIES $4,635
- HIGH GROUND STRATEGIES $3,821
- PERMIER MAILING &PRINTING $2,873
Paid to individuals: $14K, such as staff, contractors and reimbursements. People who were paid are not named here.
Payments dated Sep 22, 2025 to Jun 19, 2026, as itemized by the principal campaign committee in FEC reports (47 entries). Every payment on FEC.gov ↗
Grouped by each campaign's own description of the payment, so the groups are approximate. Payments of $200 or less to one payee need not be itemized, detail filed only as memo entries counts under other or unclassified, and spending by the candidate's other committees or by outside groups is not included. A payment is not evidence of a favor or wrongdoing.
Also registered for this seat, with no campaign summary or outside spending in the bulk file: Matthew Cole Parker Mudd, Matthew Mudd, Montez Soliz.
Use this race.
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FEC bulk data read November 4, 2026. Campaign totals come from each filing's own FEC summary through its latest processed report. Outside spending is independent expenditures itemized in committee reports in the FEC bulk files, primaries included; late 24- and 48-hour reports, party coordinated spending, communication costs and groups that do not report to the FEC are not included. Outside spending is, by law, made without coordinating with the candidate, and it is not the candidate's money. A contribution or expenditure is not evidence of a vote, favor or wrongdoing.