* I told subscribers about this yesterday morning, along with some details of his TV ad reservation…
Democratic Comptroller candidate Raja Krishnamoorthi says his bank account is approaching nearly $1 million as he tries to win his party’s nomination in his first run for state office.
Krishnamoorthi’s campaign on Tuesday reported he raised more than $900,000 in 2009 – apparently setting an Illinois record for non-incumbent candidates for comptroller.
Krishnamoorthi spokesman Mark Schauerte said most of the money came from individual donors and the funds will pay for a statewide television ad campaign starting later this month.
Krishnamoorthi is a former deputy state treasurer who lives in the Chicago suburbs. He faces state Rep. David Miller of Lynwood and Wilmette lawyer Clinton Krislov in the Democratic primary.
That’s gonna be tough to match, unless Krislov dumps a ton of his own cash into the race. Quite impressive, indeed.
* In other campaign news, Patrick Hughes is up with a new cable TV ad. As subscribers already know, this is a very modest buy. Rate it…
* Jim Ryan’s gubernatorial campaign is attacking Andy McKenna for preparing to run a spate of negative TV ads. From a press release…
A media report indicates that Andy McKenna is ready to launch a deep attack ad to revive his floundering campaign.
The Illinois news media needs to immediately ask Andy McKenna why his blind ambition is leading him to do exactly what he said as Illinois GOP chairman should not be done—unfairly attack his Republican opponents.
They should ask him why anyone in Illinois would believe any “pledge” he takes now when the upcoming ad he plans to run violates a pledge he asked Republican candidates to sign for the 2006 elections?
—In 2005, McKenna, as Illinois GOP chairman, asked candidates for office to sign a pledge to not condone “any misrepresentations, distortions, malicious untruths, unfounded accusations or innuendos about my opponent or my opponent’s family.” (Illinois Republican Party “Code of Conduct” memo, Dec. 22, 2005, authored by Andy McKenna).
—Less than a year ago, McKenna said this about attacking members of his own party: “Primaries of themselves aren’t bad. They’re bad if they become negative and people use it to destroy other candidates.” (Chicago Tribune, April 13, 2009)
Yet, according to the media report, McKenna is ready to launch a TV ad that says Jim Ryan has a different position on taxes than he does. He knows that is not true. He knows that every Republican candidate for governor has said repeatedly they will not raise taxes. He knows that Jim Ryan as a candidate for governor in 2002 proposed a constitutional spending cap and has proposed the same cap in 2010.
McKenna is taking the low road after airing millions of dollars of ineffective ads photoshopping bad haircuts on people. So what does he do: Attack the person who is running nearly 20 points ahead of him in the polls and the first Illinois Republican in a decade to lead a Democrat for Governor in a reputable poll. The Rasmussen poll late last month showed Jim Ryan leading Pat Quinn by 7 points.
He needs to be held accountable for his hypocrisy. He needs to stop hiding behind his Rod Blagojevich-like remote control TV campaign.
For his part, Andy McKenna uses House GOP Leader Tom Cross to set up his impending attack ads. From a press release…
This week Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Andy McKenna announced he signed the Americans for Tax Reform’s Taxpayer Protection Pledge and challenged his opponents to do the same. However, according to the Daily Herald, both Jim Ryan and Kirk Dillard have refused to sign the pledge.
“Now more than ever, we need a Governor absolutely committed to holding the line on taxes and enacting real reforms to move Illinois in the right direction,” said House Republican Leader Tom Cross.
Jim Ryan’s history of supporting tax increases includes endorsement of House Bill 750, a $5.5 billion tax increase on Illinois families and chairing a campaign in DuPage County to increase the sales tax. Kirk Dillard was also a key vote in Springfield to increase the sales tax in DuPage County.
“I am supporting Andy McKenna because he is the one candidate for Governor that joins me in opposing tax increases and demanding true economic reform, Illinois can settle for nothing less,” added Cross.
* Sen. Matt Murphy, McKenna’s running mate, was endorsed by Senate GOP Leader Christine Radogno today.
* I’m not gonna comment about this tiny radio buy, and I hope you don’t, either. We’re talking two spots a day on a few Chicago radio stations, so it’ll barely get noticed…
Andy Martin, the U.S. Senate candidate who made waves by claiming his opponent - U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk - was gay, is at it again, this time attacking Kirk for covering up pedophilia in the United States Congress. The minute-long ad began airing on local radio today. So how did Kirk - and Dennis Hastert - cover up pedophilia? By not stopping Mark Foley’s infamous affairs with underaged staffers. Martin hits a new nadir when, in the ad, he makes clear that, “Kirk is not a pedophile,” but then feels compelled to add that since Kirk helped to “cover up” Foley’s trysts, that makes Kirk “a de facto pedophile.” No. Really. He says thatt. Listen to the ad below:
* Related…
* Bid for Thomson injunction flops: Republican state comptroller candidate William Kelly’s bid for an injunction against the Thomson Correctional Center deal that would bring Guantanamo Bay prisoners to Illinois was soundly rejected Tuesday after he arrived in court without legal representation.
