Which Illinois primary candidates spent the most money per vote in the 2026 election?

The road to the U.S. Capitol proved to be very expensive for some candidates in the Illinois primary elections. Ads, mailers and other campaign elements can cost millions.

The CBS News Data Team analyzed vote totals and dollars spent by the top candidates and made some fascinating discoveries.

In the race for U.S. Senate, the top spender by far was U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, who came in second. He spent nearly $24 million and received less than 400,000 votes, leading to a cost of about $60 per ballot.

The winner in that race, Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, spent a fraction of that — about $2.8 million — and got more votes, leading to a cost per vote of less than $6. 

The Republican nominee for Senate, Don Tracy, spent $462,000 and received nearly 211,000 votes, or just over $2 a ballot.

Kat Abughazaleh spent the most money of any candidate running for U.S. House in her bid for the 9th District, nearly $3 million. She lost with 31,000 votes at a cost of nearly $94 each. 

But that’s nothing compared to Neil Khot, who came in sixth in the primary for the 8th Congressional District. He got 4,500 votes and spent $1.8 million; that’s a staggering $401 per vote.

The finance data analyzed by the CBS News Data Team is through late February and does not include any PAC money or outside spending. 

Explore the data below:

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