Chicago Tribune: Rep. Adam Kinzinger raises $1.1 million for his anti-Trump PAC in first quarter, and an equal amount for his reelection fund

U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, one of 10 House Republicans to vote to impeach Donald Trump, reported raising $2.2 million in the first three months of the year — half for his reelection fund and half going to the anti-Trump political action committee he launched at the end of January.

Kinzinger, who has been called a “Republican in Name Only” by the former president and was criticized by some elements in the state GOP over his February impeachment vote, said the first quarter fundraising is a demonstration that a politician could “speak the truth, speak honestly, and there are people out there, a silent majority I think, that will support you for that.”

“There were a lot of people that questioned whether or not somebody taking a stand for truth, telling the truth, going against kind of the emotional grain of the moment could survive. And, you know, obviously it’s gonna be a continuing difficult fight and battle. But if the first quarter is any indication, it’s very solid,” he told reporters Wednesday.

Kinzinger, of Channahon, figures to have several potential primary challengers including Catalina Lauf, who unsuccessfully sought a congressional seat in a different Illinois district last year.

Lauf, who has announced her intention to run for Kinzinger’s seat, worked briefly as a political appointee in the commerce department in the Trump administration and is seeking the former president’s endorsement.

Kinzinger has not formally announced his reelection plans. But he said the $1.1 million he raised in his congressional campaign fund was nearly three times what he raised for the same time period in 2019 and more than three times what he raised in the first quarter of 2017.

Kinzinger said his “Country First” leadership political action committee had also raised $1.1 million in the quarter, with an average donation of $46 from more than 10,000 donors in all 50 states.

“We’re very proud, on the reelect side, of the number of folks that have just stood up and said, ‘We’re with you. We want you back in Congress. We think you will do a great job leading in this kind of moment where we’re very divided,’” Kinzinger said.

“And then on the ‘Country First’ side of things, just the vast amount of people that have signed up and given, really organically, to say, ‘We just want a movement where people are putting the country before the party.’ I’ll say it’s exciting, it’s humbling,” he said.

Kinzinger said the “Country First” PAC has given out more than $100,000 to members of Congress, including $10,000 to Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, a Republican from Washington who also voted to impeach Trump. Herrera Beutler also picked up $46,000 as the result of a “Country First” email blast to supporters, Kinzinger said.

Kinzinger said the announcement of his first quarter fundraising was not an official announcement of his intent to seek a seventh term in the House in 2022.

“I’m certainly leaning that way,” he said of reelection.

But he said he had yet to take time for personal introspection to decide on seeking another term. He also repeated “it is not my intention” to seek the GOP nomination for governor or for the U.S. Senate seat held by reelection-seeking Democrat Tammy Duckworth next year.

The original article and video coverage can be found on the Chicago Tribune website here.