39 Comments - OneMan - Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 12:26 pm: The question at the end of the day is… What is best for Rahm and by extension the city of Chicago to some degree… That is what is going to drive Rahm. - Belle - Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 12:27 pm: He’ll pull a Richie and do all of his endorsing behind the scenes. It was an interesting strength of Daley’s to keep his mouth shut on the topic. - Will Caskey - Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 12:28 pm: What OneMan said. Endorsing in the D primary would be foolhardy for a Chicago mayor. If the general is particularly close then so would endorsing in the general. Plus I don’t even see what an endorsement would do for the supposed beneficiary that non-public fundraising cannot do without the hassle/hurt feelings. - Anyones Guess - Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 12:40 pm: He will never endorse a Republican and will not endorse anyone in the Democratic primary. After the primary, he will endorse the Democratic candidate regardless of who it is. - PublicServant - Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 12:44 pm: I personnally don’t see him risking playing favorites behind the scenes, and having details of that “behind the scenes” play come out, because if any details of that “play” were to become public, his re-election bid as a democrat is toast, especially if the details indicate any smidgen of support for Rauner. - Rich Miller - Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 12:45 pm: ===because if any details of that “play” were to become public, his re-election bid as a democrat is toast=== Meh. You can’t beat somebody with nobody. Also, Daley actively backed George Ryan behind the scenes. Never hurt him. - wordslinger - Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 12:47 pm: Yeah, I think Emanuel will do what’s best for him, personally. I think that his approach on everything. I have no idea what that would be in this case. - grand old partisan - Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 12:49 pm: In the primary, won’t endorse either (or anyone on either ballot). He’ll endorse whoever wins the Dem primary, because he is a loyal partisan. If Rauner win’s the GOP nod, he’ll work behind the scenes to at least mitigate his endorsement of the Dem. But I’ll note that it’s not just about loyalty. Hizzoner is savvy enough to know that his endorsement would be a kiss of death to Rauner, as he’s already going to have a JBT-style “RINO” issue to deal with. - Chicago Cynic - Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 12:52 pm: You missed one option - he’ll endorse the Democrat but quietly help Rauner if he’s the R nominee. - 47th Ward - Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 12:53 pm: From the mayor’s perspective, Bill Daley and Bruce Rauner are the same person. That Daley is even in the race is, I believe, in no small part because the Mayor wants a new governor. If the fall ballot pits Daley v. Rauner, Rahm wins. - 47th Ward - Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 12:53 pm: Sorry, I meant to add that I voted for the 4th option, no endorsement but behind the scenes help. - Really? WOW! - Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 12:54 pm: RAHM: “I am for anybody who is willing to work for the success of the City of Chicago. We do not have to agree on every issue, other than a lifetime holiday for the City of Chicago!” Translation: I will not throw my friend & fellow strategist/Rauner under the bus (even for the party); I will NOT give Daley credit for my success; and I will not give Pat Quinn any reason to withhold my paycheck! - Ann - Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 1:00 pm: 47th Ward has it covered. - Oswego Willy - Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 1:00 pm: “Twin Win? Mayor Rahm Emanuel is this/close to having his cake and eating it too, no matter the slice. To wit, Rahm could have Bruce Rauner AND Bill Daley as the Nominees for governor in 2014, and that means good news for Rahmbo, but will Hizzoner come out and back them? Upside - Rahm on board, either campaign, early on, or after a nomination is won, only strengthens the City’s hand. Downshot - Rauner is seen too cozy to Dems and in the GOP Primary, that could sink a Rauner ship… Daley can’t be too close to Rahmbo, Bill Daley doesn’t need another reason for voters downstate to not vote ‘Daley’ Buckshot - Rahm knows a thing about money and politics and both Rauner and Daley know how to donate, and how to payback too. Even a little help by Rahm might make the difference. Me thinks Write-in Hopeful Oswego Willy will vote ‘Yes’ because somewhere down the road, Rahm needs favors to call in, no matter what slice of cake Rahm gets to eat. - bobby dylan - Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 1:01 pm: 47th Ward - one correction, from anyone’s perspective, Bill Daley and Rauner are the same person. - Oswego Willy - Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 1:04 pm: Behind the scenes, Yes, is my vote. - Snucka - Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 1:08 pm: He’ll stay out of the primary, then endorse the Democratic nominee. If that is Daley, the mayor will campaign for him and work for his election. If it’s Quinn, Rahm’s involvement will be minimal. He won’t endorse a Republican, but a Rauner/Quinn race could lead to “behind the scenes” help for Rauner. I don’t think Rahm has a lot of foot soldiers like in the old days, so his main asset is fundraising. That can be done in a much quieter way than the old-school machine GOTV operations. - hisgirlfriday - Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 1:14 pm: Rahm stayed out of Hillary vs Obama. Hell stay out of Daley vs Rauner. But if you have Quinn vs Rauner, Rahm will back Rauner. Publicly. Just because I get the vibe that he sees himself as the new Bloomberg. - Anonymous - Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 1:16 pm: Didn’t Rahm say, at the start of the Hillary vs. Barack primaries, that he was hiding under his desk because both were his good friends? And that’s what he did, right? So I think he’ll do that now but MIGHT do something behind the scenes. - Empty Chair - Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 1:20 pm: Endorsements are mostly overrated - UNLESS they come with money or boots. Rauner will get the money, Daley might get the boots, but no one will get the endorsement. - dupage dan - Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 1:25 pm: I voted # 4 but then re-read the post. Because you mention Daley, Quinn and Rauner it could be said that the question is not clear enough. I assumed you meant Daley v Rauner but it could be read differently. Or is it just me? - Anon2 - Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 1:35 pm: #5 because he has no finger to lift. - Voice of Reason - Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 1:40 pm: Rahm owes Rauner for the sweetheart deal that made him millions. Having said that, I still can’t fathom how Rauner can help anyone as Governor without a legislative base of support. Quinn couldn’t do it with his own party in majority. Rauner has attacked both parties and “his party” (methinks that is the Bruce Rauner party)is a minority. If you want to know what a Rauner administration would be like - look at Quinn. 4 more years of gridlock aren’t an acceptable option - particularly for Chicago. - Jon Zahm - Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 1:58 pm: Emanuel has a horse in both camps. He covers his bets because both Rauner and Daley will give him unchecked access to the Guv’s office and will put Chicago interests ahead of the suburbs and downstate. www.norauner.com - James the Intolerant - Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 2:00 pm: I think Rahm is a Democrat in name only, opposite of a RINO. He is anti-union, pro-privatization. Me thinks he will do whatever is best for him. I don’t know how many boots he has to give to either candidate, but he has the cash. - Oswego Willy - Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 2:02 pm: Oh, goodie, RINO & DINO…how fun! - Anon - Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 2:04 pm: It is a shame that partisanship overrides what is in the hearts of our leaders. Rahm just lost a whole lot of my respect. - hisgirlfriday - Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 2:10 pm: Wait a sec. What did Rahm do here to lose your respect? Get gossipped about by an anonymous source in a Sneed column? - Voice of Reason - Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 2:11 pm: As importantly - what did he do to gain your respect in the first place?? - Tom B. - Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 2:29 pm: Sneed is completely wrong here, as usual. - Cincinnatus - Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 2:34 pm: Rich asked, “He won’t lift a finger for either man.” Which finger? - 1776 - Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 2:34 pm: Rahm is a Democrat so he will officially endorse Daley if he wins. I think he’ll remain neutral if Quinn wins the primary. In either case, a “public” endorsement will allow him to play quetly behind the scenes with Rauner. - Dave Thomas - Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 2:44 pm: Rich, the missing one! Race you to Wendy’s. - Dave Thomas - Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 2:46 pm: I meant Arby’s! - Nearly Normal - Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 2:53 pm: Rahm is a pragmatist first. He will support the man whom he thinks will help him the most. And if it is Rauner, he will do it in the background just most other politicians. - Knome Sane - Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 3:13 pm: The days of the Mayor of Chicago making that much of a difference in a Gubernatorial race are about over. In the not-too-distant past, the Mayor could dispatch an army to help a Dem in the General Election (or instruct said army to sit on their hands to help a Republican.) But Mayor Emanuel doesn’t have an army like the past Mayors did. And, lastly, there is no upside to getting his hands dirty in a primary and only downside if he does and chooses incorrectly. As the late, great Milton Rakove once penned, “Don’t Make No Waves, Don’t Back No Losers”. - wordslinger - Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 3:30 pm: Daley and Rauner are chasing the same buck, a lot of whom bankrolled Emanuel. From looking at reports, Rauner seems to have more Wall Street money and Daley more Washington money. Some of the LaSalle Street, Gold Coast, North Shore money seems to be going to both of them. Their circles overlap and it’s good to have generous friends committed to nothing but reform government. - Just The Way It Is One - Friday, Aug 9, 13 @ 4:18 pm: Rahm is a Party Guy, through and through, and that means an eventual Endorsement of the D’s Nominee, tepid or not, but if SOMEhow the R’s Gubernatorial Hopeful emerges as his Ultra-Rich Bud, Rauner, I’d doubt, at least, that he’d do anything sigNIFicant to publicly snub him or put him down–unless it’s something BLATantly opposed to Rahm’s Personal Mayoral Platform, and even then, it’d probably just be a firm, formal Statement in disagreement (after all, he’s still got plenty of that “RahmBO” left in him after all of those years and fights EARNing him that Nickname)…! - Astralized - Thursday, Aug 15, 13 @ 7:42 pm: Hi, excellent post! This is exactly what my friend and I needed for my institution venture, thus many thanks greatly. We don’t normally comment yet this was such a relief that I could not resist. Take care, Marc & Co Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.