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* Sneed…
Sneed hears GOP gubernatorial hopefuls State Sen. Kirk Dillard, State Treasurer Dan Rutherford and State Sen. Bill Brady were busy campaigning this week.
But not for themselves.
All three Republican candidates were involved in a one-act play with one major objective: stopping gazillionaire Bruce Rauner from winning the Cook County Republican Party primary endorsement.
◆ Translation: “They and their minions were hitting the campaign phones: Dillard, Rutherford and Brady don’t care so much who gets the endorsement, as long as it isn’t Rauner,” a Sneed source said.
◆ Buckshot: “If Rauner wins the endorsement, it will be hard for the other candidates to raise money, or they can expect to see all their donations dry up,” a top GOP source said.
“This is the first time the Cook County Republican Party is endorsing someone pre-primary; it’s a first major endorsement; and it carries the biggest city in the state,” said Cook County Commissioner Liz Gorman.
“It could mean a 3 to 5 percent bump in the polls and a way to open the money spigot,” she said.
◆ Scoop: Although the winner won’t be announced until Saturday, Sneed is told that Rauner had already logged 60 percent of the committeemen voting online.
Rauner has already dried up the other candidates’ money, but a slating could give him a little bump.
* Subscribers know much more about this…
“This is a sideshow,” said a Rauner source. “It’s what damage the unions are going to do to Rauner that’s the big deal. Rauner has been very outspoken against union leadership.”
Sneed hears that if the unions are going to launch a major Rauner offensive, they plan to do it soon after the holidays.
That Rauner source is probably right. It’s what the unions do that will matter most. Stay tuned. Actually, you really should subscribe if you haven’t. I mean, what the heck?
posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Dec 20, 13 @ 9:21 am
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Their only hope is Brady and Dillard drop out and their current state-wide winner Rutherford gets to go mano-a-mano.
Comment by corvax Friday, Dec 20, 13 @ 9:25 am
Get real.
The Cook County Republicans just don’t have that kind of pull, statewide, or among big donors.
Rauner’s big Hoover is already sucking in all the green, through moneyed networks and contacts.
Comment by walkinfool Friday, Dec 20, 13 @ 9:34 am
Brady, Dillard and Rutherford have been running for governor non-stop for years, yet Rauner got the drop on all of them first time out of the box.
It’s not just Rauner’s personal wealth (although that’s important). Rauner out-hustled them to lock down other big GOP contributors.
There’s no crying when you get out-hustled.
Comment by wordslinger Friday, Dec 20, 13 @ 9:46 am
Prior to Rauner running his political ads on television, he was the last of the GOP gubernatorial candidates that I would have voted for in March 2014. Now—-I am not so sure? I like what I am hearing. I like both Brady and Rutherford but, at the same time, as a Republican I hate getting my lunch handed to me after each election. Rauner has the money that is needed behind him while the others don’t. The $64 question is “Who is the real Bruce Rauner”? Is he really a standup guy who isn’t simply another shill for the Chicago Democrat organization? His wife is supposed to be a Democrat (which is okay) but why isn’t she out there in his ads or telling the media that she is supporting her husband over Pat Quinn? That part bothers me and my wife. If Mrs. Rauner is backing Pat Quinn then what does that tell you as a voter?
Nancy Brady is out there telling folks that her husband Bill is the candidate that Illinois voters should vote for. She is a very effective and seemingly sincere spokesman for her husband.
Rutherford doesn’t have a wife so he has an excuse. Perhaps Dillard’s wife is helping him. I don’t really know. But if Rauner is still married and has a wife who votes for and makes checks out to Democrat candidates, then she would probably be a very effective spokesman for Bruce Rauner if she would publicly state that Bruce Rauner is the individual that should be elected to replace Pat Quinn.
Comment by Henry Clay Friday, Dec 20, 13 @ 9:48 am
Sean Morrison republican committee men in palos told me weeks before any meetings or voting (online or other) that rauner would get the cook county republican endorsement. So it’s really just ANOTHER paid ad for rauner.
Comment by William j Kelly Friday, Dec 20, 13 @ 9:52 am
Rauner is this/close to buying the nomination.
Comment by too obvious Friday, Dec 20, 13 @ 9:53 am
I hopr Rauner loses just to see what Illinos’ biggest losers Gidwitz and Roeser do next.
Comment by Toure's Latte Friday, Dec 20, 13 @ 9:55 am
==There’s no crying when you get out-hustled.==
Agree. And I’ve never heard Brady or Dillard and “hard worker” in the same sentence, so that’s no surprise. But I’m surprised Rutherford didn’t hustle more - or maybe he did and got denied?
Comment by Robert the Bruce Friday, Dec 20, 13 @ 9:56 am
=Brady, Dillard and Rutherford have been running for governor non-stop for years, yet Rauner got the drop on all of them first time out of the box.
It’s not just Rauner’s personal wealth (although that’s important). Rauner out-hustled them to lock down other big GOP contributors.
There’s no crying when you get out-hustled.=
Ditto!
Comment by Downstater Friday, Dec 20, 13 @ 9:58 am
And it’s the perfect gift for everyone on your holiday shopping list!
– MrJM
Comment by MrJM Friday, Dec 20, 13 @ 9:58 am
Does Rauner’s work on term limits create a Teflon shield against the union ads?
Rauners plan of action on term limits is very popular and only growing.
Quinn, Brady, Dillard and Rutherford can’t touch him on this. After all, what have they done, with their combined years in government, to advance the ball on the issue?
Rauner’s done more on the issue and hasn’t ever been elected.
Unions will certainly launch the attack, but will they also be seen as attacking the term limit issue?
Comment by Downstate Friday, Dec 20, 13 @ 10:04 am
Payton Prep Clouter Bruce Rauner “donated” to the Palatine Committeeman for the “two-fer”
Palatine and Cook County. “ROI” so far has Palatine, so now he needs to deliver the County..,
…
Comment by Oswego Willy Friday, Dec 20, 13 @ 10:10 am
=== “It could mean a 3 to 5 percent bump in the polls and a way to open the money spigot,” she said. ===
No way does an endorsement from the Cook County GOP bring a 3 to 5 percent jump in the polls.
Comment by Just Observing Friday, Dec 20, 13 @ 10:12 am
=== His wife is supposed to be a Democrat (which is okay) but why isn’t she out there in his ads or telling the media that she is supporting her husband over Pat Quinn? That part bothers me and my wife. If Mrs. Rauner is backing Pat Quinn then what does that tell you as a voter? ===
1. I think you are making some giant leaps. Maybe she’s just not the press-the-flesh type person.
2. Using her Dem credentials would be a lot more helpful in the general than the primary.
Comment by Just Observing Friday, Dec 20, 13 @ 10:14 am
In Illinois politics, money CAN buy you love.
Comment by Perceval Friday, Dec 20, 13 @ 10:22 am
Another over-hyped story about nothing. The Cook Co. GOP endorsement will not translate into any actual votes. It’s Rauner’s massive spending that will make the difference.
Comment by Whatever Friday, Dec 20, 13 @ 10:27 am
-Hustling is not donating to the party chairman of cook county to get an endorsement.
-Hustling is not having extreme influence in private equity and capital markets where you call someone up who you were on a board with and say donate 100k to my campaign and they know you are a huge player in business capital financing.
-Hustling is not spending 6 million 3 months before the primary election.
-Hustling is not failing to commit to debates
-Hustling is not failing to tell your position on the issues
Lets be straight, Rauner is trying to buy this. He is not out hustling anyone. It wasn’t hustle that convinced ken Griffin to donate 250k.
To his credit Brady out hustled everyone in the 2010 primary with his strategy and execution. Rutherford has hustled with using the treasurers office to boost his campaign. And Dillard has hustled to be on both sides of every issue. The only hustling Rauner is doing is to his checkbook, but his assistants probably do that while they are out buying him another $18 watch. Rauner should just buy half the primary voters an $18 watch.(6.5million/350K)
Comment by Call a spade a spade Friday, Dec 20, 13 @ 10:33 am
=Payton Prep Clouter Bruce Rauner “donated” to the Palatine Committeeman for the “two-fer”
Palatine and Cook County. “ROI” so far has Palatine, so now he needs to deliver the County..,
=
Smart politics by Rauner.
Comment by Downstater Friday, Dec 20, 13 @ 10:39 am
All these folks are busting their humps making phone calls and emailing people because the Cook County GOP doesn’t matter, right? A few of you had better take a look at how many Republican votes come out of Cook County. 3-5 point jump is entirely possible.
Comment by A guy... Friday, Dec 20, 13 @ 10:43 am
===Smart politics by Rauner,===
“I agree!” - Henry F. Potter, “Pottersville, NY”
Remember? … “Tell the Congressman to wait.”
lol, PPC, after buying up the Mansion, the GA, Congressmen, all that will be left might be a Building and Loan!
Comment by Oswego Willy Friday, Dec 20, 13 @ 10:47 am
Rich, let your blog speak for itself…Direct requests for subscriptions is, well, goche.
And, yes, you can say “Bite me” whenever you’d like…three…two…one…
Comment by PublicServant Friday, Dec 20, 13 @ 10:53 am
It could be worth a great deal to any of the 4 with a Cook County presence… A Ground Game… Maybe?
lol - Brady, Rutherford, Dillard.., “Call me, Maybe!”
Priceless! All that is missing is a Dopey video leading to no votes for the “3″, because no one turned out their pluses against Rauner lol
“So, let’s make phone calls!”
You “3″ got caught with your … Well, you all got beat, now let’s see if you “3″ together have any Juice to stop “Donations” and “ROI” on them.
Comment by Oswego Willy Friday, Dec 20, 13 @ 10:53 am
===goche===
If you’re gonna call me names, then at least learn how to spell.
Gauche.
Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Dec 20, 13 @ 10:56 am
WS, you’re dead on with your post. He has out hustled them. Not such a surprise with Brady and Dillard, but Rutherford being out hustled is hard to believe. The money is big, but it’s the stuff he’s doing aside from the money that makes the biggest difference to date. This may be one instance where being new to campaigning and actually liking it is a big advantage. It’s not good for Dan Rutherford to be lumped in with the other 2 when it comes to hustle. It’s hard to fathom really.
Comment by A guy... Friday, Dec 20, 13 @ 10:56 am
==All these folks are busting their humps making phone calls and emailing people==
Well, at least you’re focusing on the right kinds of activities.
I thought from day one that Rauner would be the winner for suburban Cook Co Republicans.
I hadn’t considered that any Cook Co GOP organization would have much impact on that.
Comment by walkinfool Friday, Dec 20, 13 @ 10:58 am
Walkinfool, never hurts to acquire a little insurance early. One did. 3 didn’t. Same theme on every front.
Comment by A guy... Friday, Dec 20, 13 @ 11:03 am
Call, if it was all about personal wealth, Gidwitz or McCenna would have been big hitters. They were wired to the same big money network as Rauner.
The other three never quit running after 2010. How did they not lock down some big donors?
Have you seen the D-2s of Brady and Dillard? How do you run a statewide campaign in Illinois with that kind of cash?
I suspect they all underestimated Rauner, and are now playing catchup.
The GOP primary voting universe is small, so nobody’s out of it. But you can’t tell me that Brady, Dillard or Rutherford planned to be in these positions six months ago.
Comment by wordslinger Friday, Dec 20, 13 @ 11:08 am
Oh, and its gauche to point out misspelled words.
P.S. I’m proud, as an American, to purposefully misspell those lousy, frenchy words! I mispronounce them too. I offer, as an example, my teenage 7-11 visit where I requested a copy of Ow-ee. Cough. Cough. The clerk just looked at me, and said “Hit the road sonny boy.”
Comment by PublicServant Friday, Dec 20, 13 @ 11:10 am
And I only wanted it for the articles by the way…
Comment by PublicServant Friday, Dec 20, 13 @ 11:12 am
i look forward to rauners reponse on this or any debates. he probably wants to, but his staff may be saying no. remember, he is a self described salesman. he knows his pitch and he stays on message. but, as far as i know, he hasnt had to answer any tough policy questions, much less two or three followup questions.
i wouldnt be surprised if he blows off debates, saying its more important for him to spend time with “real voters”, who want to “shake things up” in springfield, not trading shots with a trio of pols who are “part of the problem”, unable to deal with the real problems….blah blah blah.
unions do need to take some shots at rauner, starting in january. he will say it proves who is running things, (union bosses), but someone has to penetrate his barrage of ads.
Comment by langhorne Friday, Dec 20, 13 @ 11:16 am
This will be an interesting test of where the Cook County GOP Party is in terms of the ongoing civil war. Will Liz Gorman engineer an endorsement for a pro-abortion RINO or will the social conservatives get together and back one of the two major pro-life, pro-family Republicans, aka, Brady or Dillard? Or will they split the vote?
I guess we’ll see if the GOP platform matters to the Cook County GOP.
Comment by 47th Ward Friday, Dec 20, 13 @ 11:16 am
The fact of the matter is Rauner has out hustled the other three thus far. He seems to be everywhere making public appearances at meetings, meet and greets, dinners, lunches, etc. Dillard comes a close second in hustling, but is clearly being swamped money wise. If Rauner were to sit back and hope his huge money campaign is enough, I would agree with everyone that he will lose. But he isn’t. He is matching his cash with being out there making public appearances daily, something I didn’t see other “big money” candidates do in the past.
If the Unions do attack him in the primary, they will just play into Rauner’s narrative that “union bosses” are the problem and he will stand up to them. The Unions planning this primary counter-attack may actually help the Rauner cause. Unions have to remember they aren’t very popular amongst Republicans right about now due to their overwhelming support of Democrats over the years.
Comment by Louis G. Atsaves Friday, Dec 20, 13 @ 11:26 am
Louis, agreed. The unions have also never faced anyone with more money than they have. The Unions would be stepping into the same sand trap as the other 3 candidates. There is a real danger to them after the primary if they empty the tank early. They have some house members to protect too. There’s a reason they’ve always stayed out of GOP primaries. Might be time to revisit why that is.
Comment by A guy... Friday, Dec 20, 13 @ 11:48 am
I had a rather interesting pollster call last night. The way the questions were framed, (especially the last question) it seemed as if it were paid for by the Brady/Dillard/Rutherford camp. The recording first asked if the primary were today, who would I vote for? It went through a plethora of other questions, then to the last question. The last question gave a glowing 2 sentence overview of each candidate, except for Rauner, who they called and outsider. As if this were a bad thing. It then asked if knowing what I know now, who would I vote for. I still hit the Rauner key. Betcha the Brady/Dillard/Rutherford camp is not going to be happy with those poll results.
Comment by Ladybug Friday, Dec 20, 13 @ 12:05 pm
Louis,
Great post. Rauner has been talking about the term limit issue so much that the union campaign may look “anti-term limit”. That won’t help them either.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Rauner launch a push-back campaign on the unions and make hay out of the fact that suddenly unions aren’t content influencing the Democrat party, they now have to get involved in the Republican primaries, as well.
Comment by Downstate Friday, Dec 20, 13 @ 12:18 pm
Louis,
Agreed. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Rauner & it seems to me he’s doing everything right including cornering the unions & incumbents BEFORE either has spent a dime. Love it.
Comment by Ladybug Friday, Dec 20, 13 @ 12:38 pm
It’s nice to see that the Republican faithful still have those Romney blinders on. Rauner hasn’t got a chance, even if it is Pat Quinn that he’ll be facing in the general. Ask Bill Brady, if you don’t believe me.
Comment by PublicServant Friday, Dec 20, 13 @ 12:59 pm
=== Rauner hasn’t got a chance, even if it is Pat Quinn that he’ll be facing in the general.===
Smugness will usually get you clobbered in politics.
Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Dec 20, 13 @ 1:00 pm
=== This is the first time the Cook County Republican Party is endorsing someone pre-primary ===
Seeing the large donations Rauner recently made to the Chicago GOP as well as Chairman del Mar’s local organization, this change in policy is surely pure coincidence.
Comment by Formerly Known As... Friday, Dec 20, 13 @ 1:10 pm
=== Although the winner won’t be announced until Saturday, Sneed is told that Rauner had already logged 60 percent of the committeemen voting online ===
Another coincidence! Someone inside the Cook County GOP is sharing pro-Rauner leaks with the media.
Will wonders never cease?
btw, my post above should read “Cook County GOP” rather than “Chicago GOP”. Friday brain freeze.
Comment by Formerly Known As... Friday, Dec 20, 13 @ 1:13 pm
===Smugness will usually get you clobbered in politics.===
Not against vanity, it won’t.
Comment by PublicServant Friday, Dec 20, 13 @ 1:26 pm
===Not against vanity, it won’t. ===
Yeah, the Republicans all thought this was a vanity candidate, too. Look where that got them.
Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Dec 20, 13 @ 1:38 pm
Rich, frankly, I’m not arguing that Rauner isn’t dotting his Is and crossing his Ts, but, in the end, the words need to be strung together into a coherent message spoken by a candidate that can survive the hypocrisy that defines him.
Comment by PublicServant Friday, Dec 20, 13 @ 1:56 pm
Public Servant, have you gotten into the “nog” a little early. First, no one’s gonna get clobbered. History teaches that. Recent History teaches it even more. Secondly, SL Cohen, Fairchild, J Hart…all names on the ballot who won.
Comment by A guy... Friday, Dec 20, 13 @ 2:13 pm
A Guy - First, I can’t afford the nog any more, and I didn’t say he’d be clobbered, Rich did, in referring to us smug guys. Secondly, and sadly, Quinn won recently too. That fact is much more pertinent. Don’t get me wrong. Bruce is a smart guy, and he couldn’t ask for a better chance of winning than to face an opponent like Pat, if he wins the primary, but I can’t see him winning in a state as blue as Illinois no matter who he’s running against. Even a thief like Quinn.
Comment by PublicServant Friday, Dec 20, 13 @ 2:54 pm
PS, I know you’re referring to the Pension Reform vote that you cared deeply about, but Quinn is not a thief. That’s just nutty talk. Apologies on the “clobbered” part, eyes moving too fast there. Illinois has been very deep blue for a while, but it’s history doesn’t indicate it’s so blue it can’t get closer to baby blue or even purple. The GOP held the mansion for 2 generations- no one beat them, they gave it away with the George Ryan scandals. (plural!) Any of these guys could go head to head with Quinn and it’d be a toss up for different reasons. Bill Brady; nice guy- but he proved he couldn’t win when the stars were completely lined up for him. Kirk Dillard; suddenly among the worst campaigners in the history of the state and bordering on campaign bankruptcy daily. Dan Rutherford; still got a chance, but he better find another gear in a hurry. Bruce Rauner; currently winning, money no object, staying on message, consistently a step ahead of everyone else. Everyone has negatives, Rauner and Quinn are the only ones with the dough to buy a spot light. Speaking of which, Quinn’s disorganized approach to nearly everything, is costing him right now. If I were him, I’d rather face anyone else. You can tell him, but you can’t tell him much.
Comment by A guy... Friday, Dec 20, 13 @ 3:36 pm