Labor unions and pro-Israel groups are among the biggest funders of U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski’s re-election campaign, which recently reported having almost $2.1 million on hand. By contrast, her Republican opponent, Joshua Loyd of Virden, said he had just $2,883 as of June 30. Budzinski, a first-term Democrat whose 13th Congressional District snakes from the eastern St. Louis suburbs through Springfield to Champaign-Urbana, has already developed a nationwide fundraising base.
