Dan Hynes is considered the frontrunner for the Illinois Democratic Nomination to the US Senate, but that puts a giant target on his back.
As such expect a ‘solid assault’ on Hynes by the Hull campaign which after having the Daley pull out the rug from underneath Hull’s feet, is under no illusions about this campaign. They are devising a strategy to keep the losing margins in Chicago and the suburbs low.
Add to this a bit of intrigue surrounding two candidates: John Simmons and Joyce Washington. Washington has never held significant office and so her candidacy is a bit of a mystery since she doesn’t have the resources that Hull and Simmons have. One suggestion is that she is the Carol Moseley Braun of the race pulling votes from Obama to help Hynes out. Is this possible? Absolutely. But what would the pay-off be? One thing people forget is that ego is a hell of motive and pushing someone’s buttons to run on the idea of making a dramatic challenge certainly affects one’s clarity of thought. Washington may well want to believe she can win while being pushed by forces using her for not so honest reasons. Cold-hearted political consultants can all point to the weakness they see in even the most level-headed clients when their egos are stroked.
Simmons is the other question–is someone pushing him to get in or is he a stalking horse downstate? I’d have to say that if he is throwing $40 million in his campaign, he believes he can win. Now whether someone has convinced him to run is an open question. Again, ego can cloud many people’s judgments.
The interesting note on Simmons is that Poshard has never heard of him. If I were to run a downstate based campaign in the Democratic Primary and wanted to gather up support Poshard is the second call I make. The first is to unindicted coconspirator Jerry Costello who probably controlls the largest single block of votes in Southern Illinois. The second is Poshard (the third is Paul Simon). Why Poshard doesn’t know this guy is strange given Simmons should have made sure Poshard knew him.
That being said, such a move wouldn’t be that strange by a political neophyte. Why the strong words of support by Costello for Simmons? Simmons bankrolls a lot of Democrats in Madison and St. Clair County so Costello is unlikely to do anything, but flatter him. Simmons’ campaign has every sign of an authentic neophyte being encouraged for future access to his money. Given his ties are very thin, he’ll have a very hard time making headway in labor heavy Southern Illinois.