1. Dan Hynes. At the head of the polls and still the nominal front runner. Has tons of organizational support with the Carpenter’s Union backing him this week. While union endorsements only go so far, and unions aren’t always as united as they may seem, 50,000 pieces of literature to union voters is nothing to squawk at.
2. Blair Hull. The money is paying off with 9 percent in the most recent poll. Creating name ID is the name of the game and he seems to be doing that while not creating huge negatives.
3. Barack Obama. A high profile state lege member shouldn’t be falling behind (even within the margin of error) a political neophyte, but he is close. Apparently not active in some neighborhoods in Chicago where he should be able to draw on an activist base.
4. Gery Chico. Still has cash and isn’t doing too badly in the polls. Still hasn’t cracked the Hispanic vote. If he can’t do that, he isn’t going anywhere.
5. Maria Pappas. New rule. To be in the top four, you have to be in the race.
6. Joyce Washington. Not bad in the poll, but still not getting any coverage or attention besides as a spoiler.
7. Nancy Skinner. Got beat in the poll. Gotta be on the radar to make a run for it.
8. Matt O’Shea. I’m quickly running out of snarky things to say here.
9. Frank Avila. I hope I have him in the right party. Bueller?
10. Estella Johnson-Hunt. I hope she has herself in the right universe.
11. Vic Roberts. Please, please let him in any debates. A quick measure of a candidate is if they can handle crackpots. Remember McCain handling Alan Keyes? He’d separate the talented from the empty suits. And when is that interview coming Eric Zorn?
FEC reports won’t be out for a couple weeks, but they could be very telling this time. Chico and Hynes have the most at stake. Chico goes low, money won’t follow. Hynes doesn’t outpace Obama and he looks weak.