CNN Illinois 1992

[Plankton5165]

Bill Schneider said Republicans ordinarily need to win Cook County to carry the state of Illinois, and Bush was ahead narrowly in Cook County. Bill Clinton carried the county with at least 60% of the vote, Mondale and Dukakis also won the county. Did they mean outside Cook County in Illinois?

[RINO Tom]

Probably.  The forumla for winning Illinois hasn't changed, even if it has gotten harder: run up your margins in the collar counties and Central Illinois.  Republicans are never going to win Cook, even if they barely did in the distant past or in absolute landslides; there are too many minority voters, union Democrats and urban liberals to overcome.  And, even with newfound Republican strength in some rural Southern Illinois counties that used to be Democratic and Central Illinois counties that used to swing a lot more, there still aren't enough votes there for Republicans to get over the top.  A GOPer in Illinois who is going to win needs to sweep the collar counties and needs to get really good margins from DuPage.  They also need to win Central Illinois (an area with over 2 million people in it alone) very handily, as well.