On Feb. 2, Illinois voters weighed in on some unusually competitive primary races, and a few surprises emerged—with one being that gay candidates fared better outside Cook County than they did in it.
U.S. Senate
Just a few weeks ago, State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias had a substantial lead over opponents David Hoffman, a former Chicago inspector general, and Cheryle Jackson, ex-president/CEO of the Chicago Urban League, in the Democratic primary for the seat currently held by Roland Burris and formerly held by now-President Barack Obama. However, Hoffman had recently gathered momentum, and Giannoulias had to deal with negative news regarding Broadway Bank, the Giannoulias family's financial institution. Giannoulias managed to hold off David Hoffman 38 percent to 34 percent; Hoffman announced his concession to Giannoulias and thanked his own supporters shortly before 10 p.m. Feb. 2. ( Jackson garnered 20 percent of the vote. )
Gay candidate Jacob Meister withdrew from the race Jan. 31, throwing his support to Giannoulias.
On the Republican side, Mark Kirk won by a substantial margin, with real-estate developer Patrick Hughes a distinct second.
With Republican Scott Brown winning the U.S. Senate seat in Massachusetts formerly held by the late Ted Kennedy, the White House has definite interest in the winner of the Illinois race.
U.S. House
Most of the U.S. House races ran as expected, with many incumbents ( e.g., Bobby Rush, Jesse Jackson, Jr. ) prevailing either by wide margins or uncontested.
In the 7th Congressional District, Danny Davis took 66.9 percent of the Democratic primary vote; Sharon Denise Dixon garnered 13.6 percent and Darlena Williams-Burnett won 12.8 percent of the vote.
In the 10th Congressional District, a very tight race between three-time candidate Dan Seals and opponent Julie Hamos developed in the Democratic primary. With 99 percent of precincts reporting, Seals had 48.0 percent of the vote; Hamos had 46.6 percent.
Governor's race very tight
There were only two candidates in the Democratic primary—but they waged a war of words that made the race extremely tight. Gov. Pat Quinn was attempting to get elected in his own right after replacing ousted Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Dan Hynes, the state comptroller for more than a decade, really thrust himself into the race with a controversial TV ad that showed the late Chicago Mayor Harold Washington regretting that he had ever hired Quinn.
As of Feb. 3, votes were still being counted in both primaries. Quinn has been asking fellow Democrats to get behind him regarding November's general election; however, Hynes—behind by fewer than 7,000 votes—has not given up, saying that every vote needs to be counted. On Feb. 4, Hynes conceded to Quinn, saying, "We did the right thing, made sure all the votes were counted, and now we know for sure: That wasn't us," according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
On the GOP side, state Sens. Bill Brady only had a 1,500-vote lead over Kirk Dillard; each had 20 percent of the vote. Brady is a fiscal and social conservative who favors abortions only when the health of the mother is at risk. In addition, Brady opposes same-sex marriage and civil unions, and in 2005 voted against the state gay-rights bill, according to the Chicago Tribune. Illinois law does not mandate recounts, although candidates can call for them; however, they have to pay for the recounts themselves.
Other state races
In other state primaries, Scott Cohen edged out Arthur Turner ( 26 percent to 23 percent ) in the Democratic race for lieutenant governor.
The treasurer's race ( on the Democratic side ) seemed to be in favor of Robin Kelly, who led opponent Justin Oberman 58 percent to 42 percent, with 83 percent of precincts reporting.
Regarding the post of attorney general, Lisa Madigan ( Democrat ) , Steve Kim ( Republican ) and David F. Black ( Green ) had no opponents, and will face each other in November.
All three candidates for secretary of state—Jesse White ( Democrat ) , Robert Enriquez ( Republican ) and Adrian Frost ( Green ) —were unchallenged in their respective races as well.
General Assembly races
Some interesting and hard-fought races took place for seats in the Illinois General Assembly.
In the 7th District ( Illinois Senate ) , incumbent Heather Steans defeated openly gay candidate Jim Madigan, who would have been the first out state senator had he prevailed tonight and in the general election. As of 9:30 p.m. Feb. 2, Steans had outgained Madigan 65.1 percent to 34.9 percent with 85 percent of precincts reporting.
In the 5th District ( Illinois House ) , incumbent Ken Dunkin fought back a stiff challenge from openly gay candidate David Schroeder in the Democratic primary.
Also, in the only race to feature two openly gay candidates, incumbent Democratic state Rep. Deb Mell ( 40th District ) led Joe Laiacona 65.5 percent to 34.5 percent with 87 percent of precincts reporting. Mell, who currently does not have a general-election opponent, told Windy City Times, "I really love my area, and I'm just really honored that they like the job I do—but there's still a lot of work to do, and I'm just going to continue."
Another gay candidate, Ed Mullen, ran against Dan Farley and Ann M. Williams in the Democratic primary for the 11th District seat in the Illinois House. With 86 percent of precincts reporting, Williams had 45.7 percent of the vote, while Farley had 32.3 percent and Mullen trailed with 22 percent.
County
In the Democratic primary for Cook County Board president, Toni Preckwinkle prevailed, defeating three opponents—Cook County Circuit Clerk Dorothy Brown, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District President Terrence O'Brien and incumbent president Todd Stroger. As of 9 p.m. Feb. 2, the other candidates had already made concession calls to Preckwinkle, who thanked her parents and campaign team as well as people "Black and Latino [ and ] gay and straight." ( With 85 percent of precincts reporting, Preckwinkle had 50 percent, O'Brien had 23 percent and Brown had 14 percent, according to Fox Chicago News. Stroger finished last. )
In the Republican primary, financial adviser Roger Keats easily defeated police officer/attorney John Garrido.
Judicial
Last year, Sebastian Patti made history as the first openly gay person in the Illinois Appellate Court when he was appointed by the state's supreme court. However, Patti was not elected to the post; with 97 percent of precincts reporting, he had 15.9 percent of the vote. ( Mary Rochford had 38.8 percent in a field of five candidates. ) Patti will return to Cook County Circuit Court since he had not resigned his post there.
As for Cook County races, lesbian candidate Linda Pauel was involved in a tight Democratic primary race for the Dolan vacancy. With 91 percent of Chicago precincts reporting, Pauel had 32.93 percent of the vote to Susan Kennedy Sullivan's 31.15 percent and Kevin J. Murphy's 25.32 percent; in the suburbs, Pauel had 31.82 percent to Sullivan's 36.36 percent. However, on her Facebook page, Pauel conceded defeat, posting Feb. 2, "Well, it was close ... We gave it our all! Thanks so much for all your support and encouragement. Thanks too for your votes. I'll be back!"
Lesbian candidate Mary Trew had her own tight race, but she ultimately finished second to Steve Bernstein. Trew told Windy City Times that she was "disappointed" but was "pleased with how we did." There were six Democratic candidates in the Cook County Circuit Court, 9th Subcircuit, "A" vacancy race.
John Dalton easily won the Democratic primary for the 16th Circuit, Kane, "A" vacancy. Following his victory, he told Windy City Times, " [ The win ] was very humbling. As I said last night to the people gathered at my house last night, a candidate is not a campaign ... and I had a tremendous amount of help. It was really overwhelming to get that kind of support from my friends and my community." If Dalton defeats Republican David Akemann in November, he will be the first out gay candidate in Kane County history and the first judicial candidate outside of Cook County to win; however, Dalton stressed that although "it would be progress for the movement, I'm not running as the gay candidate. We're asking what is a traditionally conservative collar county to put aside its prejudices and vote based on qualifications -- and, last night, I think they did that."
Downstate
Both downstate gay candidates won uncontested races. Kent DeLay will compete against Republican Raymond Poe in November for a seat in the state House ( 99th District ) , while Christopher Boyster is vying for a spot on the 29-member Sanagamon County board. ( Sangamon County includes the state capital, Springfield. )
Boyster told Windy City Times Feb. 3 that "the chairman of the Democratic Party called me and said, 'I think we just nominated the first openly gay man in the history of the city.'" In November, Boyster said he will compete against Bill Moss, a two-term incumbent who is vice-chair of the local Republican party.
LGBT candidates
Below is how gay and lesbian candidates fared in their races around the state:
—Sebastian Patti: Lost Appellate Court ( South vacancy ) primary to Mary Rochford
—Jacob Meister: Withdrew from the U.S. Senate race Jan. 31
—David Schroeder: Lost to Ken Dunkin ( Illinois House, 5th District )
—Joanne Fehn: Lost to John Callahan ( Cook County Circuit Court, Kelley vacancy )
—Linda J. Pauel: Lost to Susan Kennedy Sullivan ( Cook County Circuit Court, Dolan vacancy )
—Ed Mullen: Lost to Ann M. Williams ( Illinois House, 11th District )
—Greg Harris: Won an uncontested Democratic primary race for his Illinois House seat
—Deb Mell: Defeated Joe Laiacona ( Illinois House, 40th District )
—Joe Laiacona: Lost to Deb Mell ( Illinois House, 40th District )
—Todd Connor: Finished fifth in the Democratic primary for Metropolitan Water Reclamation District commissioner
—Jim Madigan: Lost to Heather Steans ( Illinois Senate, 7th District )
—Mary Trew: Finished second to Steve Bernstein ( Cook, 9th Subcircuit, "A" vacancy )
—Kent DeLay: Uncontested in Democratic primary ( Illinois House, 99th District ) ; will face Republican incumbent Raymond Poe in November
—Bob Mueller: Was uncontested in the Green primary ( Illinois House, 47th District )
—John Dalton: Won Democratic primary ( 16th Circuit, Kane, "A" vacancy ) ; will face David Akemann in November's general election
—Christopher Boyster: Won uncontested race in Democratic primary for the Sangamon County Board
See www.WindyCityMediaGroup.com for updates.
