Illinois Dem struggles for money after bank failure

Illinois Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias (D) struggled to raise money in the aftermath of his family bank’s collapse in April.

Giannoulias has raised only some $900,000 since March 31 — the bulk of it in June. His Republican opponent, Mark Kirk, collected close to $1 million that same month. And Kirk was dealing with his own scandal — the fallout from inaccuracies in reporting his Navy service record at the time.

Giannoulias raised less than half of Kirk’s total, and the Republican now has almost a four-to-one cash on hand advantage.

“We are confident we are going to have the resources we need to compete,” a Giannoulias spokeswoman told Bloomberg.

Democrats were obviously concerned about Giannoulias’s numbers. Vice President Joe Biden and several others administration officials traveled to Chicago in the second quarter to help Giannoulias raise money. Other than Biden, Giannoulias got help from Education Secretary Arne Duncan, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina and President Obama’s former campaign manager, David Plouffe. White House advisor David Axelrod is slated for a Giannoulias fundraiser on July 25.