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* Who were the biggest winners of the 2010 primary this year? No snark, please, and explain fully.

…Adding… Stick to the winners, please. We’ll get to the losers tomorrow.

posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 11:22 am

Comments

Bill Brady. No one expected him to be anywhere close. Upset of the year; decade.

Comment by Jechislo Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 11:23 am
Mark Kirk because he emerged unscathed and will be able to run against the weak candidate he and the national Republicans wanted to run against.

Comment by Chicago Cynic Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 11:23 am
Mark Kirk. He won both primaries, getting the opponent he wanted from the Dems, and having a big lead in the GOP primary.

Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 11:24 am
Jechislo, I agree Brady is a winner, but a lot of us (myself included) not only expected him to do well but predicted him to win.

Comment by Chicago Cynic Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 11:24 am
Pat Quinn, not only because he beat Hynes, but because it appears that Brady will win as well.

Comment by Small Town Liberal Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 11:27 am
Robert Dold. Came out of nowhere to win the 10th Congressional District GOP Primary. All the heavy weight politicos endorsed Coulson including newspapers (except for the Tribune).

Comment by Louis G. Atsaves Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 11:28 am
Democratic incumbants. Quinn, Giannoulais, White and Madigan are incumbants that demonstrate that their party believes 2010 will be a repeat of state elections past, and that the Status Quo is still in charge of Illinois.

Comment by VanillaMan Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 11:29 am
Pat Quinn - Survived Dan Hynes challenge, gets to pick his own running mate, and gets to go against Brady in the Fall.

Comment by George Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 11:29 am
Scott Lee Cohen. He won the primary in a surprise, and now holds all the cards since desperate Dems. want him off the ticket. Let’s see how long it takes for him to file that paperwork.

Comment by Whatever Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 11:30 am
Toni Preckwinkle. When you can win in African American and white liberal communities while getting help from Mayor Daley, well, you can pretty much get elected to anything in Illinois. Reminds me of another candidate from Hyde Park…

Comment by 47th Ward Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 11:31 am
David Hoffman, he lost the primary but came out with more name recognition and calls to run for mayor of Chicago

Comment by Chathamite Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 11:31 am
Toni Preckwinkle who well exceeded the votes necessary to win, and was way ahead of the incumbant. (CC Pres)

Comment by Third Generation Chicago Native Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 11:31 am
Bill Brady for sure. Staying disciplined and not trying to compete in the expensive Chicago media market was a very smart move.

Mark Kirk, big win and now favored to pick up a bright blue state.

Raja, for coming out of nowhere and almost pulling off a big win for Dem Comptroller. He has set himself up well for the future.

Randy Hultgren and Bob Dold…two guys who werent given much of a chance at the outset but won and have a decent chance in the fall.

Honorable mention to Dan Hynes who proved to be tough and classy.

Comment by raising kane Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 11:32 am
peter fitzgerald. 3 of his alumni higgins, plummer and kinziger advanced as rising stars. enemies hastert and mckenna were defeated. republicans like adam a alluded to him several times as a reformer they respect and want to model themselves after.

pat brady. Set to have the best cycle a gop chair has had since 1998. Seems like a decent guy.

Comment by shore Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 11:33 am
47,

I think you’re getting a bit carried away there comparing Toni P to you know who.

Comment by Chicago Cynic Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 11:36 am
Downstate:

The smug northeastern Illinois media got smacked pretty hard by Brady’s win. It was totally unseen. Also downstate because the GOP total of primary votes in the downstate area went from 273k to 350K, while that in the Chicago metro area (Cook and 6 collars) went from 427k to 415k. Downstate flexed its muscle here while Chicago metro stayed home. Big reason why Brady’s strategy paid off this time.

train111

Comment by train111 Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 11:36 am
Brady ultimately will be the biggest winner. He got a pretty nice prize for a relatively small number of votes.

Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 11:37 am
Bill Brady and Adam A. Adam has shown he has a future in the IL-GOP. Bill Brady showed what can happen if you spend your money wisely; a big campaign warchest doesn’t guarantee victory.

Comment by (Formerly) Angry Republican Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 11:38 am
Brady, hands down. Not only did he pull of the primary win, but because of the continuing chaos on the Dem side with Cohen, the Dems have completely lost the chance to brand Brady out of the gate as too extreme. This will end up being a much bigger deal as the year goes on, I suspect.

Comment by ILPundit Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 11:38 am
Don’t forget Lisa Madigan. She kept away from the fray, was able to stay home and enjoy her family and will continue to hold a high office that she clearly enjoys.

Comment by been there Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 11:39 am
Clearly Brady was the big winner. Quinn barely hung on and was saddled with a laughable running mate (who in in the process of being replaced). It seems whomever is selected as a replacement is going to cause some controversy.

Comment by Stones Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 11:39 am
Rich Miller:

Heaviest traffic on the blog since the Blago arrest and great coverage of what was going on with numbers, rumors, facts and analysis. He probably even picked up a few subscribers during the primary.

Comment by Moving to Oklahoma Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 11:39 am
1. Brady
2. Kirk

They are “really big winners” for the simple reason that if either wins the general, he will go on the top 10 list for the GOP National Ticket if not in 2012, then in 2016.

Comment by True Observer Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 11:40 am
Incumbents, not incumbants.

Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 11:43 am
Toni Preckwinkle is the biggest winner …

She ran a race with limited resources, but used whatever $$$ she could scrape up to get on TV to tout herself as the “clear choice” in a 4 way race, with the odds stacked against her; running against 2 other AA, with 1 another female, and faced a lone white candidate, which could have been disaster for any/all AA candidates.

Preckwinkle got every paper endorsement, sometimes considered a curse, but used the “clear choice” mantra, reinforced with the papers to surge and overtake the others.

Limited resources, demographics/candidates challenges, lack of ground game on election day … and here comes Preckwinkle almost getting 50% in a 4 way race.

The campaign, and Preckwinkle herself, made her choice of CC Prez quite clear to voters, timed it out perfectly, and wasted zero resources, while lacking a true ground game…

Did I mention she nearly got 50% in a 4 way race?

Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 11:43 am
The Democratic Party Machine. They won every single election save one - Lt Gov. And in that race, they are now being criticized for being LESS involved then they should have been, whereas past criticisms boiled down to their flexing their muscle too much.

Comment by Robert Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 11:46 am
It’s the same coalition Cynic, and almost no one predicted Obama would win his 2004 primary so handily. Preckwinkle’s margin was surprisingly huge too, that was the first race called on Tuesday. But you’re right, I think Toni’s reached her pinnacle. I wish her well.

To your point, she’s no Obama, but they both are called “President.” Not too shabby.

Comment by 47th Ward Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 11:46 am
On the R side Brady for all the reasons given above along with Dold and Hultrgren.

On the D side Hoffman and Raja had good first runs. Can’t forget about Ann Williams and Kelly
Burke. Won the first time out and were certainly
underdogs when they first announced.

Comment by FDR Dem Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 11:47 am
Bill Brady,
A brilliant campaign with minimal resources. If he remains the nominee the bigger money will follow. Running with the trend, with Kirk on top of the ticket and strong, and against the weak democratic machine and candidate, he may be able to pull of an even bigger surprise in November.

Comment by downstate hack Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 11:48 am
Given where this state is at and where it is headed, Dan Hynes is the real winner. Assuming he doesn’t sign off on any borrowing schemes, which he SHOULD NOT, for the remainder of his time in office, he gets the foolishness to all of the fools and let them deal with it. Hynes leaves with a clear conscience as the chickens come home to roost in the democratic party; the 8000 or so people who put quinn over the top last tuesday, deserve all that is coming to them this year.

Comment by Will County Woman Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 11:49 am
Preckwinkle. She showed that broad coalition–not identity politics–is the way to win elections. I hope she can live up to expectations because they are high.

Comment by Responsa Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 11:51 am
Mike Madigan — if the Dems win, it’s because they all cut deals with him (from Pat Quinn on) and if they lose, it’s Lisa for Guv in 2014.

Comment by lake county democrat Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 11:52 am
===the weak democratic machine===

The what? You might want to take a look at the old Illinois Scoreboard. Constitutional offices, huge majorities in both houses, and a home-state President.

On top of its game? No. But weak?

The ILGOP is going to have to get some wins under its belt (maybe find its belt first) before they start claiming that the downfall of the Illinois Democratic Party is imminently upon us.

Comment by Obamarama Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 11:52 am
Oh right, question.

Lisa is the huge winner. She gets to sit on the sidelines, pick her shots carefully, and ride out this nightmare through November and decide what job she wants next.

Also, Alexi. He ran out the clock and now, like it or not, he is our guy.

Comment by Obamarama Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 11:54 am
I have to second Kelly Burke who beat the odds and the Madigan machine. There is hope for democracy in Illinois after all.
Ann Williams and Thaddeus Jones will be excellent legislators as well.
The biggest winner was Bill Brady who will now get a chance play on the big stage.

Comment by Bill Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 11:55 am
Winners include anyone willing to acknowledge the need to raise revenue to balance budgets, protect public services and save jobs.

There were almost a million votes cast for two Dem gubernatorial candidates who ran on tax increases.

Brady aside, the highest-profile anti-taxers (McKenna, Andrz and Proft) were drubbed in the GOP gubernatorial primary, even despite McKenna’s millions. Even though anti-tax Brady appears to have prevailed, Dillard and Ryan who have acknowledged the need for more revenue combined to far outpoll him. In all the no-taxers were revealed as a small minority of primary voters.

Elsewhere David Miller, chief sponsor of HB 174, won statewide. Giannoulias, the first constitutional officer to call for a tax increase, won soundly.

No member of the General Assembly who voted for or advocated a tax increase was defeated. In particular, senators Steans and Munoz who voted for HB 174 both won, as did revenue supporters Eddie Lee Jackson, Ken Dunkin, Annazette Collins, Andre Thapedi and others in primaries that were contested, some quite hotly and with their records on revenue made a major issue.

Even in Cook County, commissioners Sims and Murphy who voted for the sales tax increase were easily reelected against anti-tax challengers. The only incumbent who voted for the sales tax and lost, Moreno, was defeated by a progressive, Garcia, who did not make taxes an issue and has not supported further rolling back the increase.

Comment by Reality Check Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 11:57 am
“Lisa is the huge winner. She gets to sit on the sidelines, pick her shots carefully, and ride out this nightmare through November and decide what job she wants next.”

Next opportunities:

2014 Governor - runs against incumbent Quinn or incumbent Brad?

2016

Comment by True Observer Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 12:00 pm
How about a “Danny Burke” as a big winner living to serve another term.

Burke can now hope and pray that the remap has him in a district he will not have to struggle again next time. Politics is sometimes just about survival, so, Danny Burke, you are now a big winner.

Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 12:03 pm
Republican/Tea Party candidate Joe Walsh in the 8th/CD. Walsh beat a crowded field including Long Grove Mayor, Maria Rodriguez. Rodriguez, a moderate Republican, had been recruited for name recognition, gender, fundraising ability, etc.

Melissa Bean is also a big winner in the 8th. Same reasons.

Comment by Ela Observer Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 12:03 pm
I second the D. Burke victory. He was in a tough fight.

Comment by Skinofhisteeth Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 12:07 pm
Pat Quinn and Dan Hynes…

Quinn barely survives a brutal race. One can only hope he learned from it and that it will make him a better candidate and Governor.

Hynes proved to everyone that he has the toughness to run a real campaign. When the establishment gave him no chance, his campaign soldiered on and surprised a lot of people. And he showed a lot of class along the way.

Comment by anon Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 12:08 pm
Pat Quinn. With this victory, he has moved from caretaker to real governor. It’s now the Quinn era.

Comment by Quiet Sage Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 12:15 pm
Ok WCW, a guy who loses to Quinn is the winner…still spewing sour grapes I see…the way I see it, he may be a winner omly because he gets to walk away from this mess which he helped to create by letting the state kick the can down the road under the previous Gov…

The winner in my estimation is Precwinkle,until she steps into the office next year and realizes that the task at hand is a doozy…

Comment by Loop Lady Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 12:16 pm
Stick to the winners, please. We’ll get to the losers tomorrow.

Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 12:24 pm
SEIU, for sticking with Pat Quinn during the dark days of January.

Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 12:30 pm
Robyn Gabel, who beat a crowded field of well-funded candidates to become the Democratic nominee for State Rep, 18th District.

Comment by josh kilroy Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 12:41 pm
Pat Quinn. The Fall setup is the absolute best he could have hoped for. Now he has to see if he can win.

Comment by steve schnorf Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 12:44 pm
Kirk because he got desired results in 3 primaries (GOP Gov and Sen and DEM Senate). He won his primary by a large enough margin that he can run as a moderate, with Brady (likely) winning the GOV primary downstate conservatives who likely would have stayed home with 2 chicago suburban moderates on the ticket, will show up to the polls and gets the opponet in AG that will get conservatives to vote for him as an anti-the other guy vote instead of a 3rd party vote. Kirk is the one candidate in a competive race in November that came out stronger on Feb. 3 than they were Feb. 1.

Comment by Lewis Grad Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 12:46 pm
Kelly Burke beat Madigan and all the resources labor threw into that race. In the 36th dist the voters were the winners for choosing the right candidate.

Comment by Just wondering Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 12:46 pm
Quinn gets an election in which his views and his opponent’s are 180 degrees apart. There’s no squishy gray to be sorted out. He believes he’s running in a D state and that he has a populist D agenda. He will raise taxes in order to protect vital services. And, unlike Brady, he gets to pick his running mate.

Brady believe he’s running in a center-right state, He will cut the bloated budget into balance and that’s what the citizens are looking for.

Comment by steve schnorf Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 12:55 pm
Ricky Hendon was the biggest winner(even though he was a loser). If Ricky had removed his name from the Lt. Governor race, Art Turner would have won. So not only did he prevent Art from becoming Lt Governor, he ensured that Art was no longer a member of the House. A win-win for Ricky.

Comment by Hollywood Hendon Wins Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 12:55 pm
But Hendon was unable to prevent Art Turner Jr from winning his dad’s house seat. So the Turner/Hendon battle lives….we all win!!!

Comment by raising kane Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 12:57 pm
I’ll go with a region, Southern Illinois.

On the GOP side Southern Illinois flexed its muscles with the 2 downstaters Brady and Plummer getting the nod, granted with some serious luck assisting.

My remaining thought for Southern Illinois GOP’ers is maybe be careful for what you wish for. We’ll see.

Comment by just sayin' Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 1:25 pm
Way to go Art Turner Jr.!!! BIg win, big shoes to fill…

Comment by 9DYouth Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 1:33 pm
Conservatives, Hands down.

Bassi: Gone.
Coulson: Gone.
Dillard, McKenna: Gone.
Brady, Plummer: Center-stage.

Kirk: Repudiates the environment, abortion rights, embraces Palin.

Except for Rutherford and Topinka, Conservatives seem to have fumigated their party.

Up Next: Tom Cross. With Bassi gone, and the Coulson seat likely lost, conservatives will hold the majority in the House Republican caucus in 2011. I look for Mike Bost or another downstater to stage a coup for Minority Leader.

Then, the Conservative Fumigation will be complete.

Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 1:35 pm
Ed Burke was a big winner. Good investment in Quinn and Berrios. Having his brother, Dan, win likely keeps the wolves from his front door when he runs again in 2011 for 14th Ward Alderman.

Comment by Knome Sane Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 1:36 pm
Brady and Plummer.

Explanation…

They went from “Who?” in January to “The GOP candidates for #1 and #2 in Illinois” in Feb.

Of course, that could change by October… “You mean Peter Fitzgerald’s intern?!”

With the concerns over Palin as Veep dragging down McCain (and yes, Palin fans, that was a concern voters had in 2008) and the very recent example of a Lt Gov stepping up to the Gov’s office…. Plummer’s utter lack of experience will be as big an issue for Brady as the Dems choose to make it. (They could avoid it or they could use it…)

Heck, Quinn wanted a guy with military experience to run the state police and the police balked at the “lack of experience”.

But, for now, Brady and Plummer are the belles of the GOP ball with their 20% and 34% wins (provided Brady holds during final counts).

Comment by Rob N Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 1:41 pm
Wordslinger,
My K-12 years in CPS shows, followed by City Colleges. Spell check is great.

Comment by Third Generation Chicago Native Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 1:53 pm
Jesse White, top winner, always.

Comment by Little Egypt Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 2:06 pm
Quinn, for winning a very poorly organized campaign on the strength of his personal appeal. He also wins if Brady remains his opponent.

Although many of the readers of this blog do not appreciate Quinn’s style of oratory, it appeals to the voters and it carried him through despite having a poorly organized campaign and administration. People feel he wants to do the right thing, and they vote for him.

Brady should be a much easier opponent for Quinn in the fall because he is too conservative for most voters and appears naive about the budget. If Quinn cannot become more organized in the next few months, the gift of an opponent he has received will translate into a close race in the fall.

Comment by Illinois Geologist Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 2:10 pm
Mike Madigan is the big winner, by acting like lightning to eliminate the Lt. Gov. position with a Constitutional Amendment on the ballot this year.

He can put the ILL-GOP further on the spot by NOT filling the Dem Lt. Gov vacancy, and throw down the gauntlet to them challenging them to do the same.

The office is costly, unnecessary and only attracts political goofs.

Comment by X None of the Above Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 2:58 pm
Jason Plummer is a big winner. Age 27, no experience, & he’s on the statewide ticket, potentially a heartbeat away from governor.

Comment by respectful Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 3:37 pm
Preckwinkle is the big winner. So big in fact, that it appears inconsequential or inedible. Pat Quinn really won nothing except the chance to keep his job. Brady still hasn’t won. Kirk still has a fight.

Without a doubt it’s Preckwinkle.

Comment by Phineas J. Whoopee Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 3:46 pm
Big winner - CONSERVATISM. We have at the top of the ticket for the first time in decades a stark difference in ideology between the candidates running for governor as opposed to election after election of Democrat vs. Democrat-lite. Also we have for the first time in a long time a real Chicago vs. downstate matchup for governor.

Comment by Crimefighter Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 4:57 pm
Jessus ‘Chuy’ Garcia, and the kid Lozano who had no funds yet came very close from defeating the Burkes who have a ton of shameful conflict of interests business dealings with the city…yes legal, but very unethical. We can only hope the voters will get rid of these types for good someday.

Comment by CHICAGO-DEM Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 4:58 pm
Kristen McQueary — she spotlighted Madigan’s shenanigans in the 36th and likely put Burke over the top.

Comment by Rambler Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 5:06 pm
Dan Seals. While he had the grassroots support and endorsements, Hamos had twice the money (mostly from outside the district), most of the local pols’ support (and donor lists), the big newspaper endorsements, and a significant TV buy in the last 10 days of the campaign. But Seals won, and he will win in November as well, as the 10th hasn’t elected a social conservative going back at least to the 70s, if not much farther.

Comment by NSDem Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 6:04 pm
“Except for Rutherford and Topinka, Conservatives seem to have fumigated their party.”

Um, excuse me? Dan Rutherford is pro-life, strong 2nd Amendment, and unabashed supporter of indvidual liberties. How in the world can someone suggest that he should be “fumigated” as if he were one of the Blagojevich $100K salary hacks? Maybe it’s just naive thinking or someone truly uninformed — but Rutherford was the only GOP candidate who was unopposed and who (I think) ended the campaign fundraising circus with ZERO DEBT. Talk about fiscal stewardship…

I would strongly suggest some cursory research before posting in the future.

Comment by dznuts Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 11:20 pm
Brady for sure - coming out of nowhere to win the nomination.

Preckwinkle - for such a big win. Never would have thought O’Brien would lose with three African Americans running.

Incumbents - the early date and lousy weather made it virtually impossible for incumbents to lose. I don’t think any did in the contested primaries.

Comment by LouisXIV Thursday, Feb 11, 10 @ 6:53 am