In congressional races, Sean Casten has money lead over Marie Newman, while Gilbert Villegas is ahead of Delia Ramirez

Two-term U.S. Rep. Sean Casten of Downers Grove holds a sizable cash advantage over first-term U.S. Rep. Marie Newman of LaGrange in Illinois’ only one-on-one Democratic incumbent face-off following the recent redrawing of congressional districts, federal campaign records show.

In another closely watched Democratic race, for the new open-seat 3rd Congressional District that includes much of the Northwest Side and western suburbs, Chicago Ald. Gilbert Villegas, 36th, carries a money edge over state Rep. Delia Ramirez of Chicago, records show.

The reports tally how much money candidates raised from January through March of this year and how much cash they had in their bank accounts as of April 1 as they enter the final months of the June 28 primary campaign.

Casten and Newman are competing in the new 6th Congressional District, with boundaries running from Tinley Park northwest to McKinley Park and from Burbank west to Lisle and Villa Park, after congressional reapportionment reduced Illinois’ U.S. House delegation from 18 to 17 members as a result of population shifts in the federal census.

Federal Election Commission reports showed Casten ended the first quarter of 2022 with nearly four times as much cash on hand as Newman.

Casten had more than $2 million in his campaign bank account at the start of April after having raised $787,440 and spent $352,137. He started the year with $1.6 million in the bank, the reports show.

Newman began April with $552,510, and FEC reports show she spent more than she raised in the first quarter of 2022: $252,227 in expenditures and $231,617 in cash raised. She started the year with $573,120.

Of the four Republican district candidates vying for their party’s nomination, former Burr Ridge Mayor Gary Grasso, a DuPage County Board member, had the most money available to end the quarter: $309,598. Grasso raised $350,486, which included a $100,000 personal loan, and spent $40,887.

Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau had $170,092 in available cash as of April 1, while Scott Kaspar, also of Orland Park, had $25,727 at the end of the quarter after lending his campaign $144,251. Niki Conforti of Glen Ellyn reported $9,371.

The new 3rd Congressional District was drawn to reflect a growing Latino population in Illinois and stretches from Logan Square west to Addison, Wheaton and West Chicago.

Villegas, the head of the City Council Latino Caucus, reported nearly $600,000 in cash on hand at the start of April. Ramirez, a member of the Illinois House since 2019, had $321,713 on hand. In the three-month period, Villegas raised nearly $400,000 while Ramirez raised $305,759.

The FEC did not have updated figures for two other candidates in the race, Iymen Chehade, and Juan Enrique Aguirre.

In the crowded Democratic race to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush, Hyde Park businessman Jonathan Swain had more than $321,790 in cash on hand to start April. Chicago Ald. Pat Dowell, 3rd, reported $297,110 in available cash, and Rush-endorsed candidate Karin Norington-Reaves had $237,112 on hand, while civil rights activist Jonathan Jackson had $129,765.

Real-estate agent Nykea Pippion McGriff reported $78,718 in cash on hand while Jacqueline Collins, a state senator since 2003, reported $62,341 in available cash, with 14 others reporting lesser amounts or whose information was not updated on the FEC website. The candidates are seeking to represent the new 1st Congressional District, which includes parts of Chicago’s South Side as well as southwest suburban and exurban areas.

In the new 7th District on the West and South Sides, insurgent challenger Kina Collins outraised 24-year veteran Democratic U.S. Rep. Danny Davis in the quarter — $127,570 to $66,840. But Davis still maintained a cash-on-hand advantage of $543,981 to Collins’ $125,217.

In the new sprawling western 11th Congressional District, which goes from Bolingbrook to Belvidere and Woodstock, six Republicans filed to challenge Democratic U.S. Rep. Bill Foster of Naperville, who has been in the House since 2013.

Catalina Lauf of Woodstock ended the quarter with $148,241 in cash on hand. During the quarter she spent $263,879 while raising $156,144. Trailing her on the cash-on-hand quarterly reports were Jerry Evans of Warrenville with $83,806, Mark Carroll of North Aurora with $3,177 and Cassandra Tanner Miller of Elgin with $1,925. Lauf and Evans were unsuccessful in bids for the GOP nomination in the 14th Congressional District two years ago.

Foster ended the quarter with nearly $4.6 million in his campaign bank account.

In the new far west and southwest 14th District held by two-term Democratic U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood of Naperville, five Republicans have filed to challenge her. Mike Koolidge of Rochelle, a former right-wing radio talk show host, had $103,955 in cash on hand to start the month of April, ahead of Kendall County Board Chair Scott Gryder of Oswego with $39,741, Kendall County GOP chair and frequent candidate James Marter of Oswego with $39,714 and Jack Lombardi of Manhattan with $30,436 in cash on hand.

In central Illinois’ 15th Congressional District, in the only one-on-one Republican incumbent matchup for the House, five-term U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis of Taylorville reported $1.9 million in cash on hand to $510,795 for first-term U.S. Rep. Mary Miller of Oakland. Miller is backed by former President Donald Trump, who is hosting a fundraiser for Miller at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida later this month.