Palos Area's Top Republican Presidential Campaign Contributors

PALOS, IL -- Palos area voters will take to the polls March 15 to cast their ballots for the presidential nomination in each party.

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio has raised $833,727 in individual donations in the state, according to publicly available contribution data from the Federal Election Commission.

Here’s how much the other Republican candidates have taken in from Illinoisians:

• Texas Sen. Ted Cruz — $676,155
• Neurosurgeon Ben Carson — $583,381
• Ohio Gov. John Kasich — $274,626
• Donald Trump — $47,847

Nationally, Carson leads the way, followed by Cruz, Rubio, Trump and Kasich.

Those numbers, though, are a bit misleading.

While the campaigns have raised plenty of money through individual contributions, Super PACs have poured tons of money to support campaigns as well.

Outside groups have raised $46,726,605 for Cruz, $13,807,549 for Carson, $34,313,903 for Rubio, $6,729,311 for Kasich and $1,894,509 for Trump, according to OpenSecrets.

Who’s giving money in the Palos area? These are the individual contributions of at least $100 to Republican campaigns:

Marco Rubio

• Gene Diamond (Palos Park), healthcare executive -- $1,000
• Ray Carl (Palos Heights), no occupation disclosed -- $100
• Joanne Rounds Kos (Palos Heights), retired -- $100

Ted Cruz

• Joyce McMahon (Palos Heights), retired -- $2,700
• Timothy Evoy (Palos Heights), retired -- $450
• Karen Hayes (Palos Heights), homemaker -- $324
• Den Georgopolus (Palos Heights), sales -- $300
• Loren Jahn (Palos Heights), retired -- $250
• Barbara Diehl (Palos Heights), actress -- $235
• Geraldine Beres (Palos Hills), retired -- $225
• George Lullo (Palos Park), no occupation disclosed -- $200
• Steve Sprinkle (Palos Park), retired -- $200
• John Jaderberg (Palos Hills), no occupation disclosed -- $151

Ben Carson

• Tedd Mattera (Palos Park), retired -- $2,250
• Dolores Voltolina (Palos Heights), homemaker -- $2,000
• Maureen Girkins (Palos Heights), golf course owner -- $1,250
• George Ferrell (Palos Park), building contractor -- $300
• Kermit Hoyme (Palos Park), physician -- $250
• Robert Theis (Palos Hills), funeral director and embalmer -- $250
• David Akers (Palos Hills), retired -- $200
• Den Georgopolus (Palos Heights), sales -- $100
• Peter Guth (Palos Heights), investor -- $101
• Laura Novick (Palos Park), interior designer -- $100

Donald Trump

• Daniel Murphy (Palos Heights), wholesaler -- $210.33

The maximum amount of money an individual can give to a campaign under federal law is $2,700.

Following voting in four states, Trump holds a commanding lead in delegate count with 82. Cruz has 17 pledged delegates, Rubio 16, Kasich 6 and Carson 4.

Look for donations to Democrats Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders in the coming week.