Up at Political State Report
Quinn has been playing a game of being too cute by half and just got caught.
Governor Blagojevich and his people are furious at the Lieutenant Governor Pat Quinn. Sunday, Chicago Sun-Times columnist Michael Sneed reported a rumor that Quinn was eyeing the US Senate race,
Is Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn, who is acting very gubernatorial, eyeing a bid for the U.S. Senate?
Rumors about who has been interested in joining the race have been fast and furious. Former Sourthern Illinois Congressman and 1998 Gubernatorial Candidate Glenn Poshard was mentioned by Steve Neal and then had to deny the rumors. Mike Kelleher, 2002 Lt. Governor Candidate and 15 CD Candidate had to deny rumors he was interested in the race.
So a rumor is just a rumor and the Governor wouldn’t have been too concerned until some campaign research has made its way to the Governor’s people showing Quinn would jump to the front of the pack if he got in the race with strategies and numbers in the research.
Quinn is reportedly denying any ties or knowledge of the research and claiming to Blagojevich’s people that he has no intention of running. This is a particularly sticky situation for Quinn since the Governor received an immense amount of help from Blair Hull during the 2002 Gubernatorial race. The Governor’s people are said to be very concerned about the effect of a Quinn candidacy on Hull’s campaign.
In the Dance with the One that Brung You category, a Quinn race would hit Hull the hardest according to reports of what is in the campaign research. Hull provided Quinn nearly $100,000 for the Lt. Governor’s race in 2002. That’s just bad manners on Quinn’s part.
Quinn has reportedly called Hull to deny the rumors after the column broke.
Below the surface of the story are ties to another rumor in the Senate race that was officially put to rest on Political State Report. Mike Kelleher was being touted as a potential candidate in the Senate race by a former Quinn campaign worker from the 2002 Lt. Governor Democratic Primary campaign. While having no basis in fact the rumor had gotten Kelleher’s name on Politics 1 as a candidate despite Kelleher having no interest in the race and started the state rumor mill in action. The wonders of the internet.
Why would such a rumor benefit Quinn? Quinn’s base is in the City of Chicago and the inner-ring suburbs. Adding Kelleher to the potentials mix would make many opinion leaders wary to endorse early and further split the downstate vote. The more the vote could be divided, the better the chances for Quinn.
Quinn’s greatest advantage was to run a stealth candidacy where he announced at the last minute. By being active in Democratic politics over the last 25 years Quinn has built up a strong advantage in name recognition. By keeping a campaign below the radar of most in the state, Quinn would be able avoid drawing attacks from others in a crowded field and hopefully ride his name recognition to a plurality.
Quinn has a poor reputation amongst party regulars for several reasons. On the positive side of why people do not like him he is a strong crusader for consumer rights often bucking party leadership on such issues as the SBC rate hike. His activism on such issues dates back many years and has earned him the dislike of those in the Party who would like to be as cozy as they can with business.
On the negative side he is an opportunistic pain in the butt with few equals. A recent example is that during the 2002 election cycle he is reported to have petitions circulating for five different elected positions including Treasurer, the 5th Congressional District eventually won by Rahm Emmanuel, and the office he eventually won, Lt. Governor. While ambition and opportunism are often separated by a fine line in politics, Quinn has long been running for the end zone of opportunism.