Price is Right: How much will it cost to become Chicago mayor?

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Not many things are cheaper today than they were a few years ago.

The Office of Mayor of Chicago is.

A lot cheaper.

Combined, the two candidates for Chicago mayor running against each other in Tuesday's election will end up spending less than half of what Rahm Emanuel spent to get re-elected in 2015.

According to campaign finance records examined by the ABC7 I-Team, candidate Lori Lightfoot took in a little more than $5 million on her campaign. Toni Preckwinkle has almost $7 million.

The total $12 million in campaign funds raised by both candidates in Tuesday's race, is a fragment of the $24.4 million raised by Rahm Emanuel in preparation for his successful re-election bid in 2015.

The money taken in by Lightfoot and Preckwinkle for use in the February election and in Tuesday's runoff equals what Emanuel alone spent on his first election in 2011-about $12 million.

Except for the difference in candidate backgrounds, styles and fundraising capabilities, there is little apparent explanation for the sharp difference in the price tags.

While big bucks did translate to victory for Emanuel on two occasions, even the frontrunner in campaign finance this year isn't equating to a lead in the pre-election polls.

Preckwinkle has raised almost $2 million more than Lightfoot, including $643,497 the past week compared to Lightfoot's $497,433, Lightfoot has sizable leads in many of the polls.

Heading into the home stretch, organized labor was responsible for the largest contributions to both candidates according to state election records.

Preckwinkle's largest contributor was the SEIU Illinois Council PAC Fund, which had donated more than $2 million. Her second-largest contributor was Service Employees Local #1 PEC, which donated more than $829,091.

The Laborers International Union Chicago District Council PAC was Lightfoot's largest contributor, having donated $500,000 on March 20.

Lightfoot herself was her own second-largest contributor; donating a total of $316,532.95 to her campaign