IL Governor's Race Begins to Form

[muon2]

I was at the big Linclon Day fundraiser in DuPage last night where a number of hopefuls for the GOP nomination were introduced. This is an important time to judge financial and endorsement support, so many are testing the waters. Those introduced last night included:

Joe Birkett (DuPage State's Atty, '02 nominee for AG)
Bill Brady (State Sen. from Bloomington)
Ron Gidwitz (former chair of the State Board of Education)
Ray LaHood (Congressman from Peoria)
Jim Oberweis (US Senate candidate in '02 and '04)
Steve Rauschenberger (State Sen. from Elgin, US Senate candidate in '04)

State Treas. Judy Barr Topinka was not present or mentioned, but has appeared at other functions in the state.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Oh, just run Alan Keyes again.

[Frodo]

Oh, just run Alan Keyes again.

he would be just as helpful in Maryland, his native state.  any far right radical that takes votes away from Ehrlich is welcome to run. 

[??????????]

Oh, just run Alan Keyes again.

he would be just as helpful in Maryland, his native state.  any far right radical that takes votes away from Ehrlich is welcome to run. 

Keyes is certainly not a radical.

[RN]

The Republicans best shot at these state wide races is in an non Presidential contest year, but sadly I have little hope.

[BobOMac2k2]

Well Hynes is going to challenge Rod for the Dem nomination, so the republicans have a good shot at winning.

[Q]

Well Hynes is going to challenge Rod for the Dem nomination, so the republicans have a good shot at winning.

Has Hynes made it official?  If so, what do you think his chances of beating Blagojevich might be?

My feeling is that, while even Democrats aren't especially fond of Blagojevich, they feel more comfortable with his ability to win being an incumbent rather than going for someone new who doesn't have a proven ability to win.  In other words, they might personally perfer Hynes over Blagojevich but will go with Blagojevich to be safe.  Is that true at all, do you think?

[they don't love you like i love you]

From what I heard Hynes would be a stronger candidate than Blagojevich, much like Missouri last year, Mcaskill came much closer than Holden would've.

[Notre Dame rules!]

What would you rate Oberweiss' chances, provided he won the primary of course?

[Umengus]

Oh, just run Alan Keyes again.

he would be just as helpful in Maryland, his native state.  any far right radical that takes votes away from Ehrlich is welcome to run. 

Keyes is certainly not a radical.

Fot this state yes...

We know the GOP is in a very bad shape in the state of Lincoln. Hence, it should be hard for the republican candidate(s) to catch the gov office.

In all cases, the first step for the GOP is to find a strong and honest balance between moderates and conservatives in a blue state.

[BobOMac2k2]

Hynes has not made it official, but he has said Governing isnt one of Rods strong points.

Sounds to me like hes going to give it a run.

[muon2]

What would you rate Oberweiss' chances, provided he won the primary of course?

Oberweis will have difficulty in the crowded primary field. He also has to decide if he wants to run on the strong anti-immigrant message he used in the 20022004 Senate primary. That message fires up a certain base, but costs a lot of moderate support.

If he were in the general election against the incumbent, he would really need to move his image and message to one directed at real leadership, not promises and posturing. The budget's a mess and Rod continues to use short term fixes, though the rumor is that he will go after teacher pensions in this year's budget.

[BobOMac2k2]

I thought it was 2004 for Jimmy.

[muon2]

I stand corrected. Oberweis ran in both the 2002 and 2004 Senate primaries. His anti-immigrant message was from 2004.

[Storebought]

Of those on the list, Ray LaHood looks like the sanest option. He represents Peoria (so he can relate to the downstate and Chicagoland exurbs), and to the best of my knoweldge, has little affiliation with the corrupt Springfield GOP machine that has made IL electorally uncompetive.

[muon2]

Of those on the list, Ray LaHood looks like the sanest option. He represents Peoria (so he can relate to the downstate and Chicagoland exurbs), and to the best of my knoweldge, has little affiliation with the corrupt Springfield GOP machine that has made IL electorally uncompetive.

His candidacy will be interesting to watch. He has a great reputation downstate, and could do well among some traditional Democratic constituencies there. He is relatively unknown in Chicagoland, and needs to develop an image in the suburbs to be competitive.