* As I told subscribers this morning, Republican challenger Keith Matune conceded defeat to Rep. Ron Sandack (R-Downers Grove) yesterday. Sandack won by 153 votes. Matune’s concession…

This has been a particularly tough and public race. Both sides were passionate about supporting their candidate and that’s a good thing, because we need people to become reengaged with their government and the democratic process. But this current race has come to an end and I want to congratulate Representative Sandack and his supporters for their dedication. Further, I encourage all of us to come together to ensure that Mr. Sandack holds onto this seat for the Republican Party in November.

* Not everyone is ready to shake hands and call it a day, though. From former GOP Chairman Pat Brady’s Facebook page…

* Illinois Review has Smith’s response…

“While Brady’s candidates may have won, the Republican Party lost, as it slid further leftward, and became even more indistinguishable from the Democrats and more irrelevant.”

One of Smith’s anti-Sandack mailers featured two men kissing. Smith’s political organization has not yet registered with the Illinois State Board of Elections. But if it’s advocacy only and not political in nature, it doesn’t have to.

       

21 Comments - OneMan - Thursday, Mar 20, 14 @ 11:04 am: Wow, but the over/under on that to be a least a couple of weeks out… - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Mar 20, 14 @ 11:08 am: If Matune knew it was over, it was way better to end this quietly, with that lying about all the arrests and creepy behavior and all… “None of this happened. Go back to our lives, as though nothing had changed…” Getting all this behind Matune is his #1 priority now. - Adam Smith - Thursday, Mar 20, 14 @ 11:12 am: Matune statement…classy Brady and Smith…BOTH exhibit the petty, selfish and small-minded crap that hamstrings the GOP. Neither Smith nor Brady own the party (although Brady certainly acted as if he did). They are components of the party and have to be more cognizant and accepting of that fact. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Mar 20, 14 @ 11:15 am: ===Matune statement…classy=== To offset my snark, totally agree. Classy statement, well done. Thanks for making that point. - shore - Thursday, Mar 20, 14 @ 11:20 am: that wasn’t a shot pat brady needed to take. He’s had a pretty good run and by all accounts seems like a nice man whose mounted some democratic pelts, but keeping conservatives in the party and focused is something we need to do now not rub it in after wins. - Wensicia - Thursday, Mar 20, 14 @ 11:24 am: Pat Brady took a lot of shots from the anti-gay coalition. I don’t fault him for giving one back. - LincolnLounger - Thursday, Mar 20, 14 @ 11:30 am: Very nice statement by Matune. Let’s be clear — David Smith and his ilk are NOT Republicans. They just use the Party as a vehicle to promote their very narrow agenda. They don’t participate except when they have an agenda (e.g., party platform, about which nobody cares and they obsess), and they never raise money or provide active support. In spite of this, they demand control. As for Pat Brady, this is the exact kind of temperament that caused him so much grief. He lost more support among the State Central Committee due to his high-handedness, petty games, and lack of communication before the same sex marriage stuff even surfaced. - itsmyopinion - Thursday, Mar 20, 14 @ 11:31 am: If I were Pat Brady my FB post wouldn’t have been half that kind. - Big Muddy - Thursday, Mar 20, 14 @ 11:31 am: That move was classy by Matune, agreed. Methinks he now has other issues… With district 204 where he teaches. - Upon Further Review - Thursday, Mar 20, 14 @ 11:34 am: One of my favorite pictures was when Rich Miller posted the photo of Pat Brady with demonic red eyes (caused the flash on a camera). Brady’s Facebook photo is also odd. - Walker - Thursday, Mar 20, 14 @ 11:43 am: An “anti-Sandack mailer” is by its nature “political”, since it is focused on a specific candidate for election, not just general “advocacy” of a point of view. - Toure's Latte - Thursday, Mar 20, 14 @ 11:47 am: After looking at some of the HRO flyers, Sandack’s campaign was pretty rough on the personal destruction angle for a primary. Negative campaigning is the norm to put distance on the opponent, but I wonder if that severity instead made it closer than it should have been. - Toure's Latte - Thursday, Mar 20, 14 @ 11:50 am: 153 votes is not much to stake a victory on. If the HRO wants to keep a moderate in that seat, they might not want to energize the David Smith’s of the world by having Pat Brady taunting them. - DG Dad - Thursday, Mar 20, 14 @ 12:28 pm: ===Matune statement…classy=== Agreed. Which makes me think it was his idea and not his handlers’. All evidence indicates they lack the trait. - PolPal56 - Thursday, Mar 20, 14 @ 12:36 pm: Very gracious concession speech from Matune. Very well written. - Demoralized - Thursday, Mar 20, 14 @ 12:44 pm: ==the Republican Party lost, as it slid further leftward== I see the litmus testers are at it again. They are going to end up with a very small political party if they get their way. - Demoralized - Thursday, Mar 20, 14 @ 12:47 pm: Maybe David Smith could form a new party - the Anti-Gay Party. - wordslinger - Thursday, Mar 20, 14 @ 12:53 pm: Some in both parties with some nasty post-primary hangovers. You know, it’s not required to post every thought on social media. - Anonymous - Thursday, Mar 20, 14 @ 2:36 pm: Nice statement by Mr. Matune. I didn’t read Mr. Smith’s entire response or other comments he’s made, but with regard to the quote in this post, I’m not surprised at the statement. That’s the way some feel, and with fairly well-defined Moderate and Conservative wings, there will always be a difference in opinion as to how much we do, or need to, differentiate ourselves from Democrats. As I’ve said before, I see our party’s diversity in thought and opinion–and our zeal for debate as strengths because we’re constantly challenging ourselves and each other to reconsider what we can, to identify those things that we as individuals are unable to change, and to still manage to move forward together based on our common values and beliefs. And I think that’s pretty cool and it’s the only reason I still consider myself a Republican. - Anonymous - Thursday, Mar 20, 14 @ 2:41 pm: And in the spirit of unity as Americans, thank you, Rich, for allowing me to post again. - A guy... - Thursday, Mar 20, 14 @ 3:14 pm: Nice statement by Matune. No one on either side should be very happy about the content of this race. I’m relieved Ron pulled it out. No one should be spiking the ball anywhere on this one. A quiet re-entry is a very good idea. Matune did his part. I’m confident Sandack will do his. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.