On the Republican side, Sen. Bill Brady led by just a few
hundred votes over Sen. Kirk Dillard. Dillard said a victory by
Brady, a Bloomington conservative with little support in the Chicago
area, would hurt the GOP's chances of reclaiming the governor's
office. "If he's the nominee, he'll have a much, much more
difficult time than me beating Pat Quinn," Dillard said Wednesday at
a Republican "unity" breakfast.
Gov. Pat Quinn claimed victory in the Democratic primary over
Comptroller Dan Hynes, despite a margin of less than 1 percent.
Though Obama called Quinn to offer his congratulations, Hynes has
refused to concede.
"It's time to end the fighting," Quinn said as he thanked voters
at a Chicago train station. "I don't believe we are benefiting in
Illinois, certainly in the Democratic party, by having fighting."
Illinois Republicans hope to capture the governor's post as well
as Obama's former Senate seat by exploiting Democratic turmoil and
scandal, including the arrest and ouster of former Gov. Rod
Blagojevich. GOP victories in an increasingly Democratic state would
be another blow to Obama, already stinging from the Republican
victory in a Massachusetts special election for Edward Kennedy's
former Senate seat.
The Senate primary produced no surprises. State Treasurer Alexi
Giannoulias, an Obama friend and former banker, captured the
Democratic nomination. Five-term U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk was the
Republican pick.
For governor, it was a different story.
One or both of the races could wind up going to a recount.
Illinois law doesn't require recounts in close races, so the
candidates would have to decide whether to request one and cover the
costs.
Quinn is trying to win the governor's office on his own merits
after inheriting it a year ago when Blagojevich was ousted, partly
over allegations that he tried to sell Obama's former Senate seat.
Two months ago, Quinn appeared set to easily win the nomination.
But he was weighed down by the baggage of his two campaigns with
Blagojevich, his support for a major tax increase and a botched
program that granted early release to some violent prison inmates.
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The race became a dead heat with Hynes, and the two traded bitter
accusations of incompetence and dirty campaign tactics.
Hynes campaign manager Michael Rendina said the nomination could
hinge on how many absentee and provisional ballots remain to be
counted.
Absentee ballots can trickle in for the next two weeks. In
addition, Illinois lets people vote despite questions about their
registration status; now officials must decide which of those
provisional ballots are valid. In some cases, ballots weren't
automatically recorded and must be counted by hand.
"What's important now is that everyone take a deep breath and
make sure every vote is counted," Rendina said. "There's no hurry."
Quinn stopped short of asking Hynes to concede, saying that's up
to the comptroller. He also said he had no preference on an opponent
in November and called Brady and Dillard "nice guys."
Dillard, who lives in the Chicago suburbs, has positioned himself
as a pragmatist who can get things done in an often-paralyzed state
Capitol. Brady focuses more on his conservative credentials and
absolute opposition to raising taxes to bail out a state government
facing the worst budget crisis in its history.
[Associated
Press; By CHRISTOPHER WILLS]
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.
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