I know $1 million isn’t much for a statewide campaign. But by Illlinois GOP standards it’s a fortune. According to filings, Sauerberg only spent $1,500 over the last three months. So either he’s decided he can’t win and would rather hold on to his cash or he’s decided to leverage his money by spending it during the last several weeks of the campaign. This would be a pretty good strategy for a long-shot underdog. It is sort of like the Spartan’s choosing Thermopylae because the narrow terrain negated their small numbers. If you don’t have much money, spending it closer to election day limits your opponent’s ability to respond.

However, it’s a big gamble and $1 million may not be enough to pull it off. After all, all the Spartans at Thermopylae were killed.