IL-Gov. 2018 Megathread

[Blair]

Kennedy's CoH is below $750k. Biss is fairly clearly the main opponent to Pritzker now

And that's only after he wrote himself a check (and got another Kennedy to do so)

He really should drop out

[Donerail]

Kennedy's CoH is below $750k. Biss is fairly clearly the main opponent to Pritzker now

!!!! That’s it?! Yeah no kidding

To put this in context, Kennedy has less than a quarter of Biss's CoH. With about $70k a week to spend, he can't be on the air in Chicago/St. Louis in any meaningful sense -- it's barely enough to pay staff. He really ought to either kick in a ton of his own money or drop out, but he will do neither.

[Littlefinger]

Dems held a debate on NBC 5 Chicago earlier that got very contentious and nasty at times, mainly between JB Pritzker and Daniel Biss, who appear to be the two frontrunners. Chris Kennedy had a major gaffe when asked to name something positive about the other candidates, he said he couldn't think of anything to say, which he would later go on to say he would regret in a post debate interview. Hopefully Biss wins because if it is Pritzker vs. Rauner, Rauner will likely win due to low grassroots support for Pritzker.

https://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/ward-room/democratic-illinois-governor-forum-candidates-470768353.html

https://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/ward-room/nbc-democratic-governor-forum-470773483.html

[diptheriadan]

What did Kennedy do exactly?

[Babeuf]

Pritzker and Rauner buying up every available tv ad slot until November will be an actual nightmare for people living in the state. Good luck Illinois.

[Littlefinger]

What did Kennedy do exactly?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcLgoC1Y1D8&list=LLFIYFbW8ql6mYWO_7z0Ydaw&index=1

* It is from Pritzker's youtube channel, but Kennedy did catch major flak on social media and had to apologize in the post debate press conference

[MAINEiac4434]

What did Kennedy do exactly?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcLgoC1Y1D8&list=LLFIYFbW8ql6mYWO_7z0Ydaw&index=1

* It is from Pritzker's youtube channel, but Kennedy did catch major flak on social media and had to apologize in the post debate press conference

Pritzker actually sounded genuine and gracious during that segment, too. Terrible look for Kennedy.

[Former Kentuckian]

Jeanne Ives held a press conference flanked by state legislators who have endorsed her: http://www.mystateline.com/news/republican-legislators-including-rep-tim-bivins-endorse-ives-for-governor/937543529

In my wildest dreams, I wish for a Daniel Biss/Jeanne Ives showdown lol

[jamestroll]

Illinois is only competitive down ballot due to incompetent dems.

I fear Rauner could well win.

[_]

Jeanne Ives held a press conference flanked by state legislators who have endorsed her: http://www.mystateline.com/news/republican-legislators-including-rep-tim-bivins-endorse-ives-for-governor/937543529

In my wildest dreams, I wish for a Daniel Biss/Jeanne Ives showdown curbstomping lol

ftfy

[Littlefinger]

Biss earned the endorsement of MoveOn.org, a major progressive advocacy organization that could be potentially significant in a primary with 66% of Illinois voters in an online poll. Obviously he likely wont win 66% of the vote in the actual primary, but I think it is a good sign of enthusiasm for Biss on the progressive, activist wing of the Democratic wing party.

http://wvik.org/post/daniel-biss-lands-moveonorg-endorsement-illinois-governor#stream/0

[Pollster]

I wouldn't be surprised if progressive leaders swoop in during the final weeks to prop up Biss, not necessarily to topple Pritzker but possibly to demonstrate the power of the wing of the party.

[Green Line]

https://youtu.be/W5_AsZXEgVw

Ouch!  If I were Rauner, I'd hold my fire until after JB has won the primary.  He might not make it at this point.  Progressives are turning on him.

[Green Line]

The full recording is even worse.  Totally corrupt and scheming.

https://youtu.be/-DBy6wR9XkU

[America Needs R'hllor]

https://youtu.be/W5_AsZXEgVw

Ouch!  If I were Rauner, I'd hold my fire until after JB has won the primary.  He might not make it at this point.  Progressives are turning on him.

Yeah, what the hell is he doing? He should wait until JB is the nominee, and then blast him with these ads. This could be a gamechanger, but instead he seems to be trying to get Biss or Kennedy as his opponent?

[_]

https://youtu.be/W5_AsZXEgVw

Ouch!  If I were Rauner, I'd hold my fire until after JB has won the primary.  He might not make it at this point.  Progressives are turning on him.

Yeah, what the hell is he doing? He should wait until JB is the nominee, and then blast him with these ads. This could be a gamechanger, but instead he seems to be trying to get Biss or Kennedy as his opponent?

He probably thinks the primary is safe Pritzker.  But there is still about 2 months left.  This could really hurt JB.

[Pollster]

If this image takes hold, Pritzker could lose the primary.

Perhaps Rauner sees Biss as a weaker GE opponent in general, or has oppo on Biss dangerous enough to ruin his candidacy post-primary.

Or he just wants the GE to be two anti-Madigan candidates.

[Blair]

Ohh the inner campaign staffer in me takes pure joy in that; both in obtaining the wiretap audio and in the number of ing views it's got on youtube for a political ad.

This article raises an interesting point. Pritzker wasn't doing anything illegal, and it's not a career ending piece of opposition research.

The big question with stuff like this is does is change a view of the candidate? People knew that Pritzker is a rich, sleazy and generally questionable businessman, who has close ties to a long list of Democratic politicians. Will it change the outcome of the Democrat Primary? Probably not.

[IceSpear]

With redistricting coming up, it's beyond pathetic that national Dems aren't stepping in to stop the Pritzker sh*t show.

[_]

With redistricting coming up, it's beyond pathetic that national Dems aren't stepping in to stop the Pritzker sh*t show.

Well what are they gonna do to stop him?
He's got the entire state machine and his billions behind him, how could they stop him without throwing everything against him?

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

Well, with Lisa Madigan resigning and the anti Madigan message has gotten through to Democrats all over the state.  Illinoians think the Democratic legislative process needs a united Democratic gov't, as Bliss as its Governor.  Pritzer or Bliss can beat Rauner. With a polarized parliament.

[IceSpear]

With redistricting coming up, it's beyond pathetic that national Dems aren't stepping in to stop the Pritzker sh*t show.

Well what are they gonna do to stop him?
He's got the entire state machine and his billions behind him, how could they stop him without throwing everything against him?

They should be throwing everything they have against him.

If Rauner manages to win re-election, Dems have nobody to blame but themselves.

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

Having a businessman Rauner doesn't help his chances with Trump in the WH

[MAINEiac4434]

https://youtu.be/W5_AsZXEgVw

Ouch!  If I were Rauner, I'd hold my fire until after JB has won the primary.  He might not make it at this point.  Progressives are turning on him.

Yeah, what the hell is he doing? He should wait until JB is the nominee, and then blast him with these ads. This could be a gamechanger, but instead he seems to be trying to get Biss or Kennedy as his opponent?

Maybe he thinks Biss will be easier to beat because he (Rauner) could easily outspend him?

[Former Kentuckian]

With redistricting coming up, it's beyond pathetic that national Dems aren't stepping in to stop the Pritzker sh*t show.

Well what are they gonna do to stop him?
He's got the entire state machine and his billions behind him, how could they stop him without throwing everything against him?

They should be throwing everything they have against him.

If Rauner manages to win re-election, Dems have nobody to blame but themselves.