35 Comments - Been There - Thursday, Mar 22, 18 @ 10:18 am: ===Um, Tuesday went a long way toward showing that Pritzker has mended plenty of fences.=== I thought Kennedy would get a lot more support in the black communities. Obviously I was wrong. He also didn’t / couldn’t get his message out early but that was his own fault. And you are spot on about Juliana. She did great and brought a lot to the ticket. - Pundent - Thursday, Mar 22, 18 @ 10:21 am: Clearly Pritzker had a very good ground game. I’m not sure what should concern Rauner more, his narrow victory or the decisive margin of Pritzker’s. - Arsenal - Thursday, Mar 22, 18 @ 10:24 am: Someone on here speculated that the Blago tapes could’ve been good for JB in the long run because they forced him to spend time in the African American community. There might be something to that, but man, at what cost. - JoanP - Thursday, Mar 22, 18 @ 10:25 am: ==His only plurality was in the 5th, where he scored 49 percent to Biss’ 26.== Which, of course, includes Hyde Park and the University of Chicago, so lots of self-identified “progressives”. - Not Rich - Thursday, Mar 22, 18 @ 10:27 am: so much for the Kennedy name being magic in the black community - Real - Thursday, Mar 22, 18 @ 10:30 am: I said months ago that Pritzker will do well with the black vote. We are very forgiving if someone is sincere. That tape the Tribune put out only backfired because it gave JB more opportunity to speak face to face with the black community. - Henry Francis - Thursday, Mar 22, 18 @ 10:32 am: Yah, well, does he get standing ovations in black churches like the Guv? - wordslinger - Thursday, Mar 22, 18 @ 10:33 am: –* By my count, Pritzker won every African-American ward in Chicago by an average of 60.3 percent. He got 66 percent in three wards, 65 percent in one and 64 in two. His only plurality was in the 5th, where he scored 49 percent to Biss’ 26. He did just as well in African-American suburban townships and received 76 percent in East St. Louis.– The Blago tapes were a bust. –Also, I gotta say that his running mate Juliana Stratton gave one of the most intense speeches I have seen in a while Tuesday night. She is a major asset to that ticket and not just with the black community.– You’re not kidding. And Pritzker knows it, too. I can’t recall a guv candidate giving so much spotlight to the louie. Smart. - Roman - Thursday, Mar 22, 18 @ 10:34 am: One of the striking results from Tuesday was the lack of regional variation of vote totals — in both primaries. No real downstate/suburban/city divide. - Not Again - Thursday, Mar 22, 18 @ 10:40 am: State treasure and just a gem of a guy. Thanks for making election night great again Rich and Scott! - Rich Miller - Thursday, Mar 22, 18 @ 10:44 am: ===There might be something to that, but man, at what cost.=== Average margin of 60 percent was a lot more than he was on track to get before those tapes. - Anon - Thursday, Mar 22, 18 @ 10:51 am: I realize that I comment as Anon, but, when this ad first ran with the Blago/JB audio, I said it could backfire on Rauner and actually help JB. My reason was that a. Rod is still popular with the african american community and many in that community identify with him for the injustice blame claims to be the victim of, and b. on that call, blago was talking about cutting a deal with madigan that would involve giving health care to poor people. I think folks in the AA community saw JB as a guy who agreed that the political deal to help poor people get health care was a deal worth making. The second ad was unfortunate, but i think that the AA community that voted for him felt that they knew who JB was, and that he was aligned philispophically with Blago, who they still love. Turns out that was pretty accurate. - Real - Thursday, Mar 22, 18 @ 10:52 am: Someone on here speculated that the Blago tapes could’ve been good for JB in the long run because they forced him to spend time in the African American community. There might be something to that, but man, at what cost. -I was the one that said they would be good for him. - Alex - Thursday, Mar 22, 18 @ 10:54 am: Thanks for posting. Is there a count of how candidates did in Latino wards? Thanks. - Real - Thursday, Mar 22, 18 @ 10:57 am: Also, another thing I noticed on social media is that the main people calling JB a racist after those tapes are white republicans.. But they then go on to support Trump. - JudyLee - Thursday, Mar 22, 18 @ 11:03 am: Juliana was amazing. JB also surprisingly good. But I want to reverse my bumper sticker to Juliana & JB - Anon - Thursday, Mar 22, 18 @ 11:05 am: I first saw Juliana on an ad after the tapes came forward and was so impressed with her. Her speech was amazing, and she is a star. I voted for Ives, but wow, if Juliana were running for Governor, she might be able to make me switch parties! - walker - Thursday, Mar 22, 18 @ 11:16 am: JB owes us all to make Juliana a public force for significant change. That means a real job in the administration, and public speeches with power behind them. - A guy - Thursday, Mar 22, 18 @ 11:21 am: The Black vote was indeed impressive for him in the primary. Now, he needs to get back there and earn it again in the General. Unlike a lot of traditional constituencies, they don’t “stay bought”. They hold you accountable. They won’t turn around and vote for Rauner. But they will decide anew whether to vote or not. - JS Mill - Thursday, Mar 22, 18 @ 11:22 am: Tuesday night was the first time I heard Stratton speak as I do not live in the Chicago media market. She seems to be the goods, Tuesday made me want her to run for governor honestly. I like her style. Pritzker, for all of his wealth, comes off as the most “everyman” of the entire group. No put ons, no costumes. Just a guy, warts and all. That resonates with people. I could be wrong, but if memory serves Pritzker is not a new face in the AA community and has sent time and invested there, not just showing up at campaign time. Many of the traditional leaders of the AA community embraced him and his willingness to apologize seemed to be endearing. That will wear off though if he has to do it often. - Grandson of Man - Thursday, Mar 22, 18 @ 11:23 am: I was surprised by Pritzker’s quick and decisive victory. I thought the Blago tapes could hurt him among African-Americans. The results indicate that people basically knew Rauner was trying to smear Pritzker. Now it’s time for Pritzker to call attention to how Rauner hurt African-Americans and used the most vulnerable as collateral damage, in order to pit Democratic constituents against each other so he can strip labor rights and further enrich the wealthiest. - TominChicago - Thursday, Mar 22, 18 @ 11:26 am: JudyLee Not until Juliana kicks in a $100 million or so to pay for those stickers. - Chicago Cynic - Thursday, Mar 22, 18 @ 11:50 am: “JB owes us all to make Juliana a public force for significant change. That means a real job in the administration, and public speeches with power behind them.” Pretty sure that’s the plan. On a national stage we’ve had a redefinition of the VP position at least since 1993 with Al Gore (who was a great VP charged with a lot of big things). Since then we’ve had Cheney and Biden, both of whom were viewed as partners in governing. That hasn’t happened yet here in IL (has anyone seen Sanguinetti). I expect that under JB that’s exactly what we would see. With the right LG - and Julianna is certainly that - that would be a welcome change. - Arsenal - Thursday, Mar 22, 18 @ 11:51 am: ==Average margin of 60 percent was a lot more than he was on track to get before those tapes.== Right, but it created a set-in-stone easy-to-explain anti-JB narrative. I mean, all else being equal, he’d still rather that tape never have existed, right? - Johnny on the spot - Thursday, Mar 22, 18 @ 11:51 am: I can’t wait for those lt gov debates! - RoscoeRatMatt - Thursday, Mar 22, 18 @ 12:07 pm: –* By my count, Pritzker won every African-American ward in Chicago by an average of 60.3 percent. He got 66 percent in three wards, 65 percent in one and 64 in two. His only plurality was in the 5th, where he scored 49 percent to Biss’ 26. He did just as well in African-American suburban townships and received 76 percent in East St. Louis.– The Blago tapes were a bust. I agree; considering that the concept of black leadership in Chicago is a contradiction in terms, the tapes meant nothing, and I’m African-American. That said, Julia Stratton is perhaps the strongest exception I’ve seen in my 35 years. Her speech on Tuesday was outstanding. - Miss Marie - Thursday, Mar 22, 18 @ 12:59 pm: Thanks for this data, and the refreshing election night numbers was a top-notch feature. On different note, it would be interesting to see what would have happened if Kennedy had dropped out–would Biss have won, or would it have been a lot closer… - siriusly - Thursday, Mar 22, 18 @ 1:01 pm: Spot on about Juliana. The more they put her out there, the better they will do. She will motivate voters to vote, she is awesome. Great speech Tuesday night. - dbk - Thursday, Mar 22, 18 @ 1:10 pm: Just listened to both Juliana and JB’s speeches; she’s an outstanding, inspired orator. And he hit all the right progressive campaign points while managing to come across as entirely sincere. The last word in his speech was “kind.” Wow. The idea of a kind governor … Not quite sure how to envision his leadership; progressive for sure, but how would he work with the GA - or would Juliana do the heavy lifting? We’ll have to wait and see, assuming of course JB wins in Nov. I’m certain they’ll be good, and even dare to hope they have the potential to inspire the remaining progressive states in the country. The prospect of not only not being embarrassed at/ashamed of the leadership of Illinois but of actually being proud - that’s pretty exciting; it recalls why I love my state so much - its people. - Responsa - Thursday, Mar 22, 18 @ 1:29 pm: I agree about Julianna’s strengths. I still do not understand why Gov. Rauner stayed with Sanguinetti for the second run. I think someone else might have been a stronger presence and campaign asset on that ticket. But nobody asked me. - HeraC - Thursday, Mar 22, 18 @ 3:04 pm: And, it was crystal clear JB and Juliana genuinely like each other. That spoke volumes to me. I realized I was actually grinning at my screen by the end of their speeches, for so many reasons, not the least of which being I suddenly felt a true, albeit tiny, glimmer of hope for the future of the State. Also said something to me about JB, Juliana being the star of that show. She was a damn tough act to follow, he had to have known she would be, and he looked to be sincerely enjoying it. Sad to say I haven’t met too many men that comfortable in their egos; it made quite an impression. - A guy - Thursday, Mar 22, 18 @ 3:06 pm: ==Average margin of 60 percent was a lot more than he was on track to get before those tapes.== It ain’t about the percentage there. It’s about the turnout. - Molly Maguire - Thursday, Mar 22, 18 @ 3:26 pm: Pritzker campaign and victory speeches showed they are playing to win. Kennedy should have been able to reap AfAm voters, but abject results show how bad he and his campaign was. - Arsenal - Thursday, Mar 22, 18 @ 9:49 pm: == Sad to say I haven’t met too many men that comfortable in their egos== It helps to have 3 billion reasons to feel secure in yourself. But then again, Rauner and Trump show that that’s not everything. - Anonymous - Friday, Mar 23, 18 @ 6:31 am: It is abundantly clear that illinois has some of the most Illinformed voters. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.