Illinois Senate

Gidwitz Out

ArchPundit July 2, 2004 1 Comment

Trib reports he doesn’t want to make the run. All that oppo for nothing….sigh

Another name has come up, Dr. Andrea Grubb Barthwell, an African-American doctor. Someone is either floating the name out of courtesy or is on some seriously good crack. Just because someone is African-American doesn’t make them a good challenger to Obama. Without any support on the ground she’d be a disaster.

Update: From Roll Call, it looks like she is getting support out of DC.

That possibility appears to be a long shot, however, according to one knowledgeable Illinois Republican.

?She is a complete unknown who has made no effort to reach out to people in Illinois or the committee members and party leaders who will ultimately make this decision,? said the source.

Hard to say where exactly this is coming from, but my guess is that it is one of two things:

1) she sees a chance to jump up the ladder quick in the GOP and has her friends backing her

2) National GOP sees this as a chance to do some outreach to African-American voters. Not a bad strategy, but it’d kill the down ballot this time.

Illinois Senate

Illinois Republican Senate Nomination Cattle Call Open Thread

ArchPundit July 1, 2004 10 Comments

Who is up and who is down? Leave comments down below and let me know where everyone stands. I’ll be running the Cattle Call every Tuesday and Friday until the Illinois Republican Party chooses a nominee….

Illinois Senate

Two Fax Tidbits on the Senate: Gidwitz and McCracken

ArchPundit July 1, 2004 1 Comment

From the full Capitol Fax with a hat tip from Rich Miller for permission (By the way, he has some great stuff on the Governor’s attack on the Lege):

* Ron Gidwitz’s wife is said to be unenthusiastic about a US Senate run by her husband, although she reportedly is not opposed to Mr. Gidwitz running for governor. Gidwitz, by the way, is being touted as a likely prospect to run the state GOP when Judy Baar Topinka steps down at the end of the year.

* Add former RTA Chairman Tom McCracken to the list of prospective candidates, although he has not yet formally applied.

Illinois Senate

Keeping Your Friends Close

ArchPundit July 1, 2004 1 Comment

Obama is playing it smart to help the coordinated campaign, but at the same time, put his own GOTV operation in play.

The Obama camp is also raising money for the Democratic Party of Illinois, but they do not trust Madigan to run a coordinated campaign that will be tailored to help Obama rather than the state House members Madigan needs to keep his majority. That’s why Obama’s camp is preparing a backup plan for field and get-out-the-vote work normally the task of a coordinated campaign with a different funding stream.

Illinois Senate

Zorn Bets on Rauschenberger

ArchPundit July 1, 2004 1 Comment

For all of the right reasons, but one to add is that Rauschenberger will work hard with Lege members in tough races and make sure the downballot races do okay in what could still be a disaster of a year for the Republicans for Lege races.

Illinois Senate

Jerry Kohn Video

ArchPundit June 30, 2004 4 Comments

The Libertarian Candidate for the Illinois Senate was on WEEK and Jeff Trig has the link

In case Jeff is wondering why I don’t blast the Republicans challenging his petitions, well I figure I’ll save any complaining for the Dems, of which I am one, when they do that. It’s my effort to not be too hypocritical.

Illinois Senate

From the Capitol Fax

ArchPundit June 30, 2004 No Comments

In an especially hysterical version that had me laughing for a several minutes, there is some scuttlebutt on the Senate. Most important, check out the Machiavelli quote.

US SENATE STUFF Jayne Thompson, the wife of the former governor, reportedly has some interest in running for US Senate. *** DuPage County Board Chairman Bob Schillerstrom and, to a lesser extent, retired CEO Ron Gidwitz are reportedly leaning against a run. *** Jim Ryan? Hmm. *** Carbondale Mayor Brad Cole’s name was floated yesterday as a possible replacement for Jack Ryan. Cole is a cracker jack of a mayor, a very hard worker and is hugely popular in southern Illinois and with many conservatives. He would probably be a great pick if the party decides to build for the future instead of go for the win this year. *** Some well-known hopefuls may not survive the state GOP’s intense vetting process, designed to ferret out everything about a prospective candidate’s past. ? 2004

I think Cole is intriguing, and I’ll include him in the Cattle Calls. I just don’t buy that Jayne Thompson would make the run, but given the way this race has gone, I’m done making solid predictions for a while.

Illinois Senate