Paul Ryan didn't run in the 2012 Bank of America Chicago Marathon, but he raised marathon-worthy funds on race day in President Barack Obama's home state.
The Republican vice presidential nominee netted $2.5 million during the fund-raiser, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Tickets to the event at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare cost from $2,500 to $75,800 per person.
The congressman from Janesville, Wis., and Mitt Romney running mate moved the date for a planned Chicago fundraiser from Friday to Sunday.
Ryan told the crowd their contributions will help Mitt Romney become the "very clear choice" ahead of the November election, according to the Associated Press. He also said the funds will "give us the resources we need to make sure he doesn't get away with it," referring to a tactic Ryan said Obama uses to confuse voters about Romney.
Romney's camp has done pretty well in Illinois these past couple of months. Sun-Times columnist Lynn Sweet reports Romney raised $4.4 million last month during an event in Lake Forest. State Treasurer Dan Rutherford told Sweet it's the largest single Republican fund-raiser in state history.
Also in town over the weekend was U.S. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi. She held a fundraising lunch at Harry Caray’s in Chicago for Illinois' Democratic congressional candidates. Tickets ranged from $500 per person to $10,000 per couple.
Obama on Monday dedicated the Cesar E. Chavez National Monument in California. Romney spoke in Virginia on foreign policy.
