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McCann primary opponent drops out

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Illinois

* Republican state Sen. Sam McCann is on the wrong side of his party caucus leader and his party’s governor, so I don’t know yet if this means the big dogs have another candidate in mind or if McCann is getting a pass because this release arrived in my in-box only moments ago…

—Sangamon County Assistant State’s Attorney Steve McClure has decided that he will not run for the 50th District Illinois Senate seat in 2016. McClure, a Republican, created an exploratory committee on September 16th, and recently concluded a 30-day listening tour across the district.

“I want to thank all of the incredible people that I had the chance to meet over the last few weeks,” said McClure. “I know that many people are going to be disappointed that I will not be a candidate in 2016. It recently became clear to the members of my committee, and to me, that winning a primary race against an incumbent Republican is a task that takes more than five months. If I were to begin a campaign in mid-October, it would already be too late. I did not want to have wonderful people volunteering their time, donating their money, and working hard on my behalf if I knew in my heart that, for the campaign to be successful, it should have been launched much earlier.”

McClure will be returning to the Sangamon County State’s Attorney’s Office to continue fighting hard to prosecute felony offenses, protect victims, and help clean up the streets. He will remain actively involved in the Republican Party, and will continue to attend Republican events, support Republican candidates, and fight for the conservative principles and government reforms that are necessary to turn Illinois around.

posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Oct 16, 15 @ 8:19 am

Comments

Maybe the Raunerite offer of not really owning the voting buttons and being owned by Rauner finally hit McClure(?)

Comment by Oswego Willy Friday, Oct 16, 15 @ 8:29 am
So in other words, McClure will resume his place in line waiting for the Sangamon County GOP leadership to drop him into an open position allowing him to run as an incumbent.

Comment by Give Me A Break Friday, Oct 16, 15 @ 8:48 am
Steve McClure is a smart young man and will have a better chance down the road. Well played Steve.

Comment by HaroldJones Friday, Oct 16, 15 @ 8:49 am
I heard this last weekend. I’m actually surprised. While the local party claims to support Senator McCann, there’s a likelihood that such support is an inch deep and a mile wide.

Comment by Team Sleep Friday, Oct 16, 15 @ 8:57 am
McClure found out the 50th District folks like the fact that Senator McCann votes for his people & not the governor so…

Comment by Mama Friday, Oct 16, 15 @ 9:48 am
Me thinks he is afraid of the union/Rauner fight. There are a lot of Republican state employees who don’t want their insurance gutted.

Comment by Liberty Friday, Oct 16, 15 @ 10:29 am
I’m not sure what it means either. McCann has a lot of support in his district, so it might have been a futile effort to dislodge him. McClure may not have wanted a loss on his track record and figured it was better to wait for a winnable office.

Comment by RNUG Friday, Oct 16, 15 @ 12:40 pm
We’re assuming the local party doesn’t have a favored candidate. If I’m the republicans I run an independent in the general, there are too many tea party folks outside of Sangamon County to bea McCann in a primary but he would be more vulnerable in a general election.

Comment by Ahoy! Friday, Oct 16, 15 @ 3:58 pm