1) Jack Ryan–has money and rumors are Rove is pushing him. Movie Star looks and fits well with the base voters of the Illinois Republican Party. A darling of the Illinois Leader. Where does he stand on O’Hare?
2) Steve Rauschenberger–well liked by most in the party and a direct connection to Hastert. An expert on budgetary issues and working with Grover Norquist’s organization to make Illinois politics nasty. May make the primary nasty between Norquist and Social Conservatives.
3) Andrew McKenna–lots of ties to establishment and plenty of cash from the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce.
4) John Borling–resume alone makes him impressive, but still hasn’t committed.
5) Bob Thomas–why so high? Big Jim is reportedly lining up his SC seat for a former ally meaning he’ll work for Thomas in a campaign. Big Jim still gets things done, but Thomas would have to earn it.
6) John Cox–he announced. Others will overtake him when they announce. Just another way to waste his money, but it keeps political professionals employed.
7) Jim Durkin–has name recognition in the party and acceptable to conservatives–won’t get in if Washington says not to.
8) Tom McCracken–strong DuPage base of support–low name recognition and ties to DuPage machine hit hard by indictments
9) Jim Oberweis–considered liberal on abortion by Social Conservatives. Fuggedaboutit
10) Ray Choudry–who?
11) Chirinjeev Kathuria–a bit of a gadfly. Maybe not a bit.
Great comments…