In what’s stacking up to be one of the most expensive gubernatorial races in Illinois history, Governor Pat Quinn and Republican challenger Bruce Rauner are blanketing the state with ads. Kent Redfield, a political science professor at the University of Illinois Springfield, expects their total campaign spending to exceed $80 million by Election Day (November 4). Here’s how their strategies compare. (For more on Rauner, see “Will the Real Bruce Rauner Please Stand Up?”.)

  QUINN RAUNER
Team Behind
His TV Ads
Joe Slade White and Ben Nuckels, the same team from Quinn’s 2010 squeaker win Something Else Strategies, the firm that propelled Senator Marco Rubio to a win in Florida in 2010
Most Watched Ad on
His YouTube Page
“Comeback,” using such words as “courage” and “determination” to tout Quinn’s accomplishments “Nuts,” featuring a flannel-clad Rauner and wife, Diana, smiling, laughing, and finishing each other’s sentences
The YouTube Takeaway He’s a hard worker with a track record of success. (Wait, what state has he been running again?) His wife is a Democrat. Did you know she’s a Democrat, by the way? (She’s a Democrat.)
TV Ad Spending
in Chicago
$809,000 (490 spots) $1.7 million (1,650 spots)
TV Ad Spending
Elsewhere in Illinois
$120,000 (480 spots) $345,000 (1,480 spots)
Among His Favored
TV Slots
Jeopardy!, Wheel of Fortune The Bachelorette, NASCAR, Notre Dame football, soap operas
TV Slots He Bought
That His Opponent
Hasn’t
CMA Music Festival, Family Guy, Teen Choice Awards, TMZ This Week in Agribusiness, U.S. Farm Report
Baseball Slots Bought 12 Cubs games, 6 White Sox games 14 Cubs games, 8 White Sox games
NOTES: Data include all recorded Quinn and Rauner ad buys for Illinois TV stations made between March 19 and August 13, the most recent available at presstime. Third-party ads not included. Source: Political Ad Sleuth.