Illinois Gubernatorial Election 2014.

[Mr. Illini]

Quinn will win again.

The GOP will come out hard and Quinn will have to as well, but this is Illinois. Brady couldn't win in 2010 and Kirk, an excellent GOP candidate, won by just a hair, in a huge Republican year. Illinois is very inelastic.

I'll probably go in undecided, but let's be honest, I'll take a low credit rating over union busting.

[Mr. Illini]

I think if they want the governor's mansion again, they need to recruit Judy Baar Topinka (JBT) who is a moderate Republican who is more like most suburban Chicagoans.

Then us Downstate people could vote her in by a large margin.

She won the GOP nod for Gov in 2006 but lost by 10 points to Blago, after the Trib had already started to expose the corruption in Blago's inner circle. Downstate didn't help JBT as you can see below.

I've yet to figure out why Little Egypt liked Blago so much.

[Mr. Illini]

Cross-posted from the other current Il-Gov thread:

Cook county's population is about half Chicago and half suburban townships. Growth since 2010 is only about 0.35%/year according to census estimates and is fairly evenly divided between city and townships, and no township stands out for high growth since it's all mostly built up. Thus, the 2010 precinct results are a fairly good place to start a forecast for 2014.

The Cook County Clerk put out a detailed report after the 2010 general election, and the maps of precinct results show the relative party strengths in the county. Here are the maps from both the Gov's race as well as Kirk's win for US Senate. The comparison between the two gives a sense of the difference between a narrow loss and narrow win for the Pub in a statewide race.

I know it sounds a little ridiculous, but the fact that Kirk won ANY neighborhoods in the city (as you can see, about 5 or so) is a testament to how well he did. Norwood Park is usually the only neighborhood that the GOP has a shot in. He even picked up a little blip near Lincoln Park, which isn't anywhere near the outskirts of the city.

[Mr. Illini]

The mud is already slinging. Not 24 hours after the primary, Quinn has already released his first attack ad on Rauner and the Democrats are already mobilizing.

Quinn's got a better shot than some would think because this state is home to one of the strongest and most centralized Democratic bases in the country.

[Mr. Illini]

Quinn's first attack ad on Rauner

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1QB3R0U36U

[Mr. Illini]

You must be logged in to read this quote.

http://politics.suntimes.com/article/springfield/rga-drops-another-750k-back-rauner/wed-04092014-1101am

I guess the only way the GOP can win in blue states like this is by fueling these campaigns while Quinn rakes in money from Illinoisans.

[Mr. Illini]

You must be logged in to read this quote.

http://politics.suntimes.com/article/springfield/rga-drops-another-750k-back-rauner/wed-04092014-1101am

I guess the only way the GOP can win in blue states like this is by fueling these campaigns while Quinn rakes in money from Illinoisans.

Seriously, why aren't you just a Democrat ?

I can support certain Democrats while still disliking party affiliation. My avatar was D-IL at one point, though.

[Mr. Illini]

The two candidates sparred face-to-face for the first time on Friday

http://politics.suntimes.com/article/springfield/%E2%80%98-virus%E2%80%99-vs-failure-how-quinn-rauner-see-gov-race/fri-04112014-342pm

[Mr. Illini]

Rauner-friend Rahm: "Bruce Rauner hasn’t even gotten to Springfield, and he’s already acting like a career politician who plays politics with people’s pensions and livelihood."

http://politics.suntimes.com/article/chicago/robo-calls-raise-rauner-rahm-rift/tue-04222014-613pm

[Mr. Illini]

Rauner's New Gimmick
Launches corruption tip line for state employees

http://www.wlsam.com/common/page.php?feed=11&pt=Rauner&id=95854&is_corp=0

We'll see how this stuff goes over with the voters. Rauner and his staff sure seem to enjoy it.