Discussion: IL Gov. Rauner Barely Escapes Primary, Pivots To Tough General Election Campaign

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IL Gov. Rauner Barely Escapes Primary, Pivots To Tough General Election Campaign IL Gov. Rauner Barely Escapes Primary, Pivots To Tough General Election Campaign Back to article
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I’m not from Illinois, but Rauner strikes a raw nerve for me. And Ives give me hives.

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Well, it’s sort of karmic in a grim way. Rauner, who bought himself the office, now gets that principle thrown right back in his face. You have to wonder whether a) Biss and Kennedy split the “reform” vote and b) whether Biss did any campaigning outside college towns. There was a huge undecided vote in this race and it seems to have broken almost entirely for Pritzker.

Hope Pritzker’s past coziness with Blagojevich doesn’t come back to haunt the Democratic ticket.

Primary turnout was low on the Democratic side and appalling on the Republican side. Illinois voters don’t exactly look excited, but especially not conservative Illinois voters. Democratic turnout probably about 1.35-1.4 million when it should have been over 1.5; GOP turnout 650,000 when it should have been a million. For reference the presidential was more than 2 million for the Dems and 1.4 million for the 'pubs.

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Democratic primary turnout was much bigger than the 2014 primary, and Pritzker won it in a walk. Republican turnout was only 25% of what it was in the 2014 primary, and Rauner barely won it against a far right winger.

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Good…this is a wake up call. Do NOT get too complacent Dems. We still have work to do before November!

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It sucks being the pivot man…I’ve been told…

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The 2014 primary for the Dems was a snooze fest – Governor Quinn barely opposed (Tio Hardiman) and the likes of Senator Durbin, Cook County Assessor Berrios, and most key state reps and congressmen entirely unopposed. For 2018, there were big Democratic primary races all over the place; several congressional districts in both incumbent and challenger situations, the successful push to remove Berrios, the governor’s race and several juicy state legislative contests. Accordingly, it’s not that surprising that Democratic turnout in 2014 was only one-third of the 2018 number; what’s much more interesting is the Republicans had intense contests in both 2014 and 2018 and 2018 saw a 25 percent drop in their turnout.