We haven't talked a lot here about the GOP primary for governor and Lt. governor, mostly because we tend to focus on local Lake County or 10th District issues, or races with a local connection, like the U.S. Senate race, where 10th District Congressman Mark Kirk is considered the front-runner for the GOP nomination.
That is not to say that the offices of Guv and Guv Lite are not important; to the contrary, despite the fact that in many ways, House Speaker Michael Madigan is the real power in this state, if the GOP could win back the governor's mansion, we'd at least have a fighting chance to address the many challenges facing this state, and also have a hand in the upcoming redistricting process.
So with that, I'd like to turn it over the readers this morning to weigh in on your objective analysis of where the governor and lt. governor races are headed, especially considering that right now, it still seems to be anybody's race. Let's try to stay away from rote cheerleading for your respective candidates (we'll be able to tell) and try to list objective strengths, weaknesses, etc., especially as to their chance to win the general election.
For a refresher, the candidates are:
For Governor:
Kirk W. Dillard
Bill Brady
Robert J. "Bob" Schillerstrom
Adam Andrzejewski
Dan Proft
Jim Ryan
Andy McKenna
For Lieutenant Governor:
Don Tracy
Jason Plummer
Randy A. White, Sr.
Brad Cole
Matt Murphy
Dennis W. Cook
Also, remember that while people sometimes 'buddy up' to run as a mini-slate (i.e., Andy McKenna and Matt Murphy), they do not officially run together or appear together on the ballot, so it's completely possible that one of two people running on any such 'buddy' ticket might get elected and the other not.
Have at it.
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14 comments:
If by "No Clear Frontrunner" you mean that Jim Ryan is winning by 19-22 points in every credible poll to this point, then maybe we agree with you.
Right now, the race is Jim Ryan's to lose.
Dillard's campaign is based on smoke and mirrors, and McKenna has actually lost ground in the polls with his foolish ads.
Bob is done, and Proft and Adam are going nowhere.
If race was held today, Ryan wins by 15-20 and Brady is in second.
Jim Ryan, huh.
Might as well just nominate Topinka, then.
I'm really ambivalent. I wanted to join King Louis in the murphy fan club but he sold out and joined team mckenna and for me that is a career killer. I won't vote for him in the general either or any other office, ever. I may just have to eeny miny eeeny moe that one.
I like schillerstrom-he reminds me of the guy you sit next to at walker brothers with his kids on saturday morning fuming at cook county. Decency is important. The insiders are all coulson to me-dead on arrival because they're business as usual. the adam dude is hard to take seriously. Proft says what I am thinking but isn't a candidate in the traditional sense.
FOKLAES
No clear front-runner can also mean that no one has differentiated themselves.
To me, they are almost indistinguishable.
I say that as someone who voted for Mr. Ryan in the past though seem to recall him campaigning for GOP'ers on the state and federal level that led me to lose respect for him.
One considers himself an 'outsider' though was recently an insider that disappointed HIS OWN party. This is what I refer to as the Fred Thompson insider running as an outsider model. (aka the people shouldn't be patronized in such a manne).
One has not been in public office since losing to a recently disgraced Governor.
The others have done little for the People of Illinois or to rise above the partisanship taking place in Springfield.
The aforementioned could be why there is no clear front-runner.
Just wait until the Beck, Palin, and Rush team provide their 'who is the most conservative' litmus test.
Then the Tea Partiers will demand that the government better not touch their Medicare (government program).
Then supposedly grass roots efforts will soon appear to be run like a coordinated corporate plan focused on national failure (patriotism at its best).
Then things will really start rocking (of course consistency with Rush's conservatism is not necessarily good for the state).
Crazy,
the thing I miss most about us being in power aside from having a government that takes the war on terror seriously and that likes israel is the conniptions people like you and catwoman, and lee goodman, and jesse jackson and the rest of the mob used to have.
your team is in power. Relax, eat some turkey. We're all sane human beings.
FOKLAES
Jim Ryan is a paper tiger. He'll crash. Dillard is going to win.
Still looking at all the candidates except for McKenna. What a joke he considers himself an "outsider" when he was feeding at the same trough with other combine members. In my mind Murphy is guilty of foolishness for hooking up to the McKenna wagon.
It could be worse. We could be Democrats deciding between Quinn and Hynes. Or Boring and Boring+3. :-)
Right now I'm starting to lean towards Kirk Dillard as the most solid choice of the bunch. Tomorrow I may feel differently. Too late to get Matt Murphy back in the governor's race. Proft and Andrzejewski should have run for lower offices or State Senate or State Rep. Brady means well but you would think the second time around he would have gained more traction. Schillerstrom is too regional in his approach and needs to branch out. Ryan has baggage in the form of his once best fundraiser and best friend. McKenna needs to stop pretending that he is an outsider and just be himself. Although many blame him for all of the ILGOP ills, that blame is not very fair. There were plenty within our party that did plenty of damage that the worlds greatest chairman would have never been able to stop. Some within the ILGOP have their own agendas to the detriment of the party. McKenna's failure was to not stop them, a difficult task indeed. He will find it hard to shed that type of baggage.
Matt Murphy is my definite for Lt. Governor for reasons I have posted elsewhere in the past. Fresh face. Fearless. Sharp. Articulate. Should have stayed in the governor's race.
Louis G. Atsaves
King Louis,
You are as always, a valued opinion. However, Murphy showed he has no spine when he signed on with McKenna and I'm just not that into more of that garbage.
As for Dillard, Dillard backed obama who he now calls socialistic and I am really really sick of the springfield insider wing of our party. He really hasn't been that impressive in springfield and I'm not digging a back to the future movie for our party next year.
FOKLAES
My respect for State Sen. Murphy decreased when he endorsed Rep. Kirk, for the U.S. Senate. Murphy is pro-tax cuts, pro-life, and pro-gun rights, but Kirk is pro-tax increases (cap & trade), pro-choice, and pro-gun control. The best lt. gov. candidate is Randy White, since he's a conservative who holds an elected office. He's a Hancock Co. commissioner. He's pro-tax cuts, pro-spending cuts, pro-life, pro-gun rights, and pro-school choice.
Conservative Veteran
Foklaes,
Bush saying 'Where are those WMD's' in a joking manner at a correspondent's dinner with troops in harms way and Bush saying he essentially didn't care where Bin Laden is really isn't your side taking terrorism seriously, now is it?
The incomplete use of intelligence and intelligence officers like your next best thing to baked bread (Mark Kirk) that used Bush's rationale hook line and sinker is not demonstrative of taking the wars seriously.
Also, if someone took the war on terrorism seriously, they wouldn't encroach upon civil rights and fail to include the expenditures of said wars in the annual budget, now would they?
Also, how many nuclear weapons flew across the country under the Bush Administration? Is that evidence leading me to believe that Bush and his GOP rubber-stampers (they're like the capitol steps but they're not funny) took national security seriously?
As far as 'We're all sane human beings,' ask me about Sanford's soul mate, McConnell's propensity for lies and myths, and Boehner's ability to mis-quote the founding documents he is supposedly committed to support?
Just like in Illinois, the people of Ohio and Kentucky desperately need healthcare reform and a change from the nay-saying that McConnell, Roskam, Boehner, and Kirk put forth.
If you don't like what is occurring, do something better (and a belated, patch-work quilt of a piece of legislation that isn't worth the paper its printed on isn't an alternative in my book).
Look, I wouldn't appear so harsh on the GOP if they wouldn't use such hateful speech, such untoward comparisons and generalizations, and support such incomplete candidates like Keyes, Palin, and those running in the 8th and 10th Districts as well as most of their gubernatorial candidates.
I wish the GOP would provide more electoral choice.
I wish the GOP would be honest and respectful.
I also learned long ago that wishing won't make it come true which is a good thing because many a GOP'er are currently wishing for national failure (for shame to all of you).
Well,Crazy4Golf, your side of the aisle is, and has to date, not done anything of which we can be proud.Your buddies have taken the Marxist approach that will lead our nation in a direction that will end our way of life forever. Nice that you find fault with everything that every Republican has ever said or done, quite like Ellen Gill. Just for the record, nobody who loves America is hoping for failure either on healthcare reform, on what to do with the economy, national security or anything else for that matter. What will finally emerge from the conference on healthcare will only be passed if all the Senators work together and not one side trying to craft a Bill behind closed doors. Nobody in their right mind wants this nation to incur more debt for our grandchildren to inherit. Your self-righteous attitude about ALL Republicans is just as sad as Republicans going at all Democrats. No wonder the average person on the street wants nothing to do with politics or those in office.
EVERY Illinois republican MUST get out and vote on primary day so that WE can decide our candidate instead of the democrats crossing over like they did in '06 and giving us the weakest candidate.
At the very least I'm thankful that
a)our blogger in lake county is not an aging curmudgeon who talks to her cat.
b)andy mckenna is gone for good in 70 days.
c)mark kirk has a swearing in to prep for in 13 months-how will rich goldberg adjust to the dirksen buffet?
d)lauren beth gash has been fired from 10th dems.
e)we seem to be more competent this year than in years past.
f)jay cutler can't get worse.
g)11 months of obamism and we haven't been hit by a terrorist attack or gotten socialized medicene.
FOKLAES
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