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Election results notebook

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Illinois

* “I’m JB Pritzker and I’m gonna beat Donald Trump’s candidate for governor, Darren Bailey!” the governor said last night at his victory party.

It occurs to me that if Pritzker is really trying to set up a presidential bid, then helping to maneuver a Trumpist into the opposing role and then thumping him in what could likely be an otherwise Republican year would look pretty good from afar.

* Speaking of higher ambitions…

More than a decade after leaving public office, his political star fallen, Alexi Giannoulias landed the Democratic nomination for Illinois secretary of state Tuesday night, the culmination of a heated primary that pitted him against a new up-and-comer in the party.

Giannoulias declared victory over his top challenger, Chicago City Clerk Anna Valencia, a notable comeback for someone who served one term as Illinois treasurer, failed to parlay that into a U.S. Senate seat and then mostly bowed out of the public eye.

Not even the endorsement of retiring Secretary of State Jesse White — long one of Illinois’ most prolific vote-getters — could put Valencia over the top in a race that forced the state’s most powerful Dems to pick sides. She conceded late Tuesday.

Addressing more than a hundred supporters at a Streeterville hotel, Giannoulias said “we’re on a journey, a journey to restore trust in government to strengthen our democracy to make Illinois better.”

* Tribune…

In a telephone interview late Tuesday, Brady acknowledged he’s “mismatched” when it comes to campaign funding compared to Giannoulias. It’s going to take an “individual candidate that can cross party barriers” to beat a Democrat like the ex-state treasurer in November, he said.

But Brady touted his qualifications to be the next secretary of state by showing that he’s worked with longtime Democratic Secretary of State Jesse White, who is retiring, on various legislation, from organ and tissue donation to distracted driving issues.

“I think the working relationship speaks to itself from the standpoint of what we’ve been able to find common ground with and that is service to the general public, to the people of Illinois, no matter what their political party is,” Brady said of his relationship with White.

Aside from funding winnable legislative contests, the Republicans should throw everything they have into that SoS race. Even then, though, it may not be enough. But at least Brady understands that he needs to embrace Jesse White as much as humanly possible.

* This win shook up a lot of Statehouse types…

Time for a change is one of the oldest and most effective arguments in politics. And that’s the argument that won out in the hard-fought Democratic primary race for the in the 21st District of the Illinois House, as 32-year-old Abdelnasser Rashid narrowly defeated seven-term incumbent state Rep. Michael Zalewski (D-Riverside) on June 28.

Rashid with now face Republican Matthew Schultz, a 26-year-old from Brookfield who works for the anti-tax group Taxpayers United in the November general election. Schultz ran unopposed in the Republican primary.

With all but one suburban precinct reporting, Rashid led Zalewski by a mere 255 votes. Despite the narrow margin, Zalewski conceded defeat in a phone call to Rashid around 9 p.m. Rashid received 51.7 percent of the vote to 48.3 percent for Zalewski. […]

Rashid’s campaign raised about a third as much as Zalewski’s, although final figures won’t be available until next month. But Rashid ran a sophisticated campaign with direct mail, television ads and an enthusiastic core of volunteers who went door to door throughout the district.

His campaign chairman, Clem Balanoff, said he thought Rashid was the first state legislative primary challenger to ever air ads on network television in the Chicago area.

* So did this one…

Will County Board member Rachel Ventura appeared headed to victory in the Democratic primary for the 43rd Illinois Senate District race against Eric Mattson, who was put in the Senate seat mid-campaign. […]

“I feel like I didn’t win against Eric Mattson,” Ventura said. “I won against a broken political system.”

Ventura said her apparent victory “lit a candle of hope in a time in politics when a lot of people are seeing darkness.”

The SDems and their allies spent a fortune on Eric Mattson.

* Kaegi cut off Steele’s potential fundraising by highlighting ugly remarks by her husband and campaign surrogate. She couldn’t get off the ground…

Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi defeated challenger Kari Steele Tuesday, winning the Democratic nomination in his battle for a second term in what was the county’s most expensive and high-profile primary contest.

Kaegi unseated one of the most powerful politicians in Cook County in 2018 by vowing to overhaul the county’s unjust and error-ridden property tax assessment system to make it more equitable, transparent and free from political influence.

Kaegi led Steele with 54% of the vote with 62% of the vote counted, according to early and unofficial returns.

* Loami voters, by the way, approved allowing chicken coops within town limits by a 62-38 margin. I’ll have more later. I need to go outside and get some air and sunshine. I’ve spent too many days cooped up, so to speak.

* More…

Congressional races

* 2022 primary election results: Catalina Lauf leading in 11th District GOP race, but not by much

* Southland incumbent lawmakers Thaddeus Jones, Justin Slaughter hold strong leads in Democratic primaries.

* Dolton voters appear to favor recalling Mayor Tiffany Henyard; Matteson voters back home rule

* A conservative win in Illinois: Darren Bailey’s supporters express optimism despite the daunting task of taking on Gov. J.B. Pritzker

* Hart declared winner over DiCianni for GOP nomination in DuPage County Board chairman race

posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Jun 29, 22 @ 1:21 pm

Comments

Is Curran really about to be the nominee for the 2nd Supreme Court district?

Comment by Lake villa township Wednesday, Jun 29, 22 @ 1:33 pm
== Rashid led Zalewski by a mere 255 votes. Despite the narrow margin, Zalewski conceded defeat ==

That’s gracious and all, but isn’t closing that margin within the realm of possible given the increased use of VBM? Unlikely, yes. But stranger things have happened.

Comment by TNR Wednesday, Jun 29, 22 @ 1:36 pm
Did Carbonargi win? I can’t seem to find the results of that race. :/

Comment by Jessica Lovejoy Wednesday, Jun 29, 22 @ 1:38 pm
Any updates on the 13th state central committee race? I am not familiar with all the counties involved and have not seen any news on it.

Comment by Been There Wednesday, Jun 29, 22 @ 1:40 pm
Mattson devoted *so* much money to direct mail, and like 90% of it was about how Ventura had two taxpayer-funded jobs, which nobody seems to have cared about. The ads were surprisingly mean, too - angry screaming children, for example.

Just a weird decision.

(Not excusing anything Ventura’s campaign may or may not have done…I can only speak to what reached me).

Comment by Concerned Observer Wednesday, Jun 29, 22 @ 1:40 pm
I picked Zalewski in the primary but I don’t mind Rashid either. I didn’t select Pritzker in the primary in 2018 but I cheerfully voted for him in November. That man has really surprised me so maybe Rashid will, too.

Comment by cermak_rd Wednesday, Jun 29, 22 @ 1:42 pm
Say what you will about Giannoulias, but he ran an effective campaign. He also showed that having the party establishment behind you, even if it includes the very popular Jesse White, is no guarantee if the candidate doesn’t have the goods.

Comment by Pundent Wednesday, Jun 29, 22 @ 1:45 pm
=== he thought Rashid was the first state legislative primary challenger to ever air ads on network television in the Chicago area ===

Julianna Stratton wants a word

Comment by vern Wednesday, Jun 29, 22 @ 1:47 pm
Some of the other Will County results were interesting when taken in context of the win by Ventura, especially the county board seats.

The County democratic party org had long ago chosen Mattson internally, and it’s not a stretch to say the county Democratic party has performed below expectations up to this point. The progressives have started organizing better in the past few years and the results are starting to pay off. The Ventura win is not surprising in that light.

The county executive, former democratic state senator Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant, did NOT vote for HB40 when she was in the state senate. Mattson was very much waffling on his statements on abortion, which was one of my main concerns in his close associations with the Joliet Diocese. Will county still has a lot of ‘lipinski-like’ democrats still in charge of the party decisions.

Which tends to make the current democratic majority county board look very much like it might not be in the majority after the fall elections, if they can’t figure this out quickly. Unfortunately, the county Democratic party office holders seem to be digging in and trying to protect their *personal* positions.

I hope I’m proven wrong.

All that being said - Rachel Ventura learns fast. I’m not worried at all about her being in the Senate.

Comment by TheInvisibleMan Wednesday, Jun 29, 22 @ 1:52 pm
is Alexi a Giangreco effort?

Comment by Amalia Wednesday, Jun 29, 22 @ 2:02 pm
“I’m JB Pritzker and I’m gonna boost Donald Trump’s candidate for governor, Darren Bailey!”

Uh, JB, he already won.

Oh sorry, let’s highlight the word “beat.”

Comment by Grandson of Man Wednesday, Jun 29, 22 @ 2:10 pm
** he thought Rashid was the first state legislative primary challenger to ever air ads on network television in the Chicago area.**

Julianna Stratton says hi.

Comment by SaulGoodman Wednesday, Jun 29, 22 @ 2:26 pm
I am wondering if anyone can think of a worse campaign than the Valencia for SoS run?

I mean seriously you got the golden ticket in the Jesse endorsement + Pritzker + Durbin AND you’re running against a very flawed candidate….

And you manage to not only lose but get totally thumped in the process? Wow. Everyone involved with that campaign needs to do some reflection today.

I am not trying to be overly harsh either, I proudly voted for Valenica. But wow wow wow.

Comment by wowie Wednesday, Jun 29, 22 @ 2:28 pm
Still no word on CapFax or Playbook about the Willie Preston victory.

Outspent by about 5-to-1, went up against Harmon/Peters/Vilivalam, and ended up beating Lamont by a rather solid margin. Not bad for someone facing some really long odds.

Seems notable

Comment by Hmmmm Wednesday, Jun 29, 22 @ 2:30 pm
It seemed like Ventura worked harder and longer and Mattson’s campaign just paid. I regularly drive through some parts of the district and Ventura had yard signs in voter yards for a loooooong time before I ever saw a “sign” of Mattson, and those were terrible Facebook ads. Those ads made up about 100% of the Facebook ads I saw over the last week. The main message I took away from the ads was whomever made them were a bunch of a********.

Comment by A Well-Regulated Commenter Wednesday, Jun 29, 22 @ 2:41 pm
===Still no word on CapFax===

Subscribe.

Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Jun 29, 22 @ 2:41 pm
Biggest loser on the Republican side of the Supreme Court race in the 2nd Judicial District? The freemasons! Curran is coming for them.

Comment by Barney Wednesday, Jun 29, 22 @ 2:49 pm
=Everyone involved with that campaign needs to do some reflection today.=

Starting with the candidate. Because a bad candidate overshadows everything. Valencia’s campaign didn’t lose, she did.

Comment by Pundent Wednesday, Jun 29, 22 @ 2:50 pm
Rashid’s voting record will likely look just like Zalewski’s, the difference is that he lacks the institutional knowledge and budgetary experience. Zalewski might’ve filled Greg Harris’ leadership slot ably, and the entire state will lack for this loss.

Comment by Chito Wednesday, Jun 29, 22 @ 3:02 pm
Hopefully Pritzker paying 4d chess works out. If it does it would be a very good setup in a few years.

Comment by Publius Wednesday, Jun 29, 22 @ 3:07 pm
==Rashid’s voting record will likely look just like Zalewski’s, the difference is that he lacks the institutional knowledge and budgetary experience. Zalewski might’ve filled Greg Harris’ leadership slot ably, and the entire state will lack for this loss.==

Don’t disagree, but Z has no one to blame but himself for the PNA vote. The climate became too hot for what would have already been a controversial vote.

Comment by JR Wednesday, Jun 29, 22 @ 3:07 pm
==Will county still has a lot of ‘lipinski-like’ democrats still in charge of the party decisions.==

Yeah…. rather than trying to find common ground and focus on thr 80% + of issues that unite us as Democrats, lets just abandon them to the GOP.. That is why we are having problems nationally.

Comment by low level Wednesday, Jun 29, 22 @ 3:14 pm
== PNA vote ==

I think the Madigan and ComEd connections hurt more.

Comment by TNR Wednesday, Jun 29, 22 @ 3:52 pm
Yep, Republicans would be smart to go all in behind Brady. Brady is an exceptional retail politician. He’s seemingly at every BloNo charity or business social. I’m interested in how he translates those skills to a statewide run. This is one the Republicans can win. The have to allow him his distance from Bailey/Devore to appeal to independents. Alexi is beatable.

Comment by Independent Wednesday, Jun 29, 22 @ 4:03 pm
“lets just abandon them to the GOP”

You ignored the problem, and are trying to blame the voters. Sounds like what the Will County DCC would try to argue. So I say hello to you, and pay attention.

For the population, what’s the end result of not voting for HB40, compared to voting ‘No’ for it? For first voting against decriminalizing, and then later voting against legalizing cannabis in the state - even for medical reasons. For voting against criminal justice reform. If the votes in the legislative body aren’t there when it matters, multiple times, then what’s the point.

When given the chance to face a vote from the public, the progressive democratic candidate in a primary here that is strong on these issues *wins*. It’s the unwise choice of the county democratic org to discourage those candidates who would win when facing the public, to favor their internal org candidate instead - who would then go on to lose.

That’s a problem with the local organization. Not the voters.

Nothing is 100%, but in the general this fall I don’t really see this being ‘abandoned’ to the GOP simply because the people in Will County were able to vote for who they wanted to.

Comment by TheInvisibleMan Wednesday, Jun 29, 22 @ 4:13 pm
Pritizker will win. Probably 55 to 45. When you travel the entire state, Trump isn’t as despised as the media would have you believe. Bailey will win somewhere between 82 to 88 counties. A loss is a loss, however outside of Cook and the collar counties, conservatives are fairly well received. These are strange times. Anything is possible. The Governor would be wise to keep that in mind…

Comment by Lane Change Wednesday, Jun 29, 22 @ 4:35 pm
=== Bailey will win somewhere between 82 to 88 counties.==•

Counties don’t vote

An irrelevant statistic that means zero.

Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, Jun 29, 22 @ 4:38 pm
Holy cow Rachel Ventura is divisive.

Comment by South side cubs fan Wednesday, Jun 29, 22 @ 4:49 pm
-Bailey will win somewhere between 82 to 88 counties.-

Rauner won 86 counties in 2018 against JB, and lost by almost 3/4 of a million votes.

Comment by Ron Burgundy Wednesday, Jun 29, 22 @ 5:02 pm
“Holy cow Rachel Ventura is divisive.”

Let me catch my breath from laughing.

Okay.

The non-divisive route was already taken by the democratic county executive, by working and posing for pictures with the board member who organized and attended jan 6th stop the steal rallies.

Being nice, or going-along-to-get-along with the specific people who want to overthrow your government and replace it with a theocracy, is not a virtue.

Comment by TheInvisibleMan Wednesday, Jun 29, 22 @ 5:14 pm
Well-Regulated Commenter:

Every time I saw a Ventura sign I said to myself ’signs don’t vote’. But I also noticed that there were a lot more Ventura signs in peoples’ yards (as opposed to on public roads) than Mattson ones, at least around me. And often they were alone…obviously someone had reached that specific house.

Also, @TheInvisibleMan: I think Will County Democratic voters are more ‘progressive’ than the party gives them credit for/expects. I have no inside proof of course. But I remember being pretty sure Marie Newman would win in 2018 because there seemed to be a real groundswell for her in my area. She didn’t, of course - but she *did* win Will County that year.

Comment by Concerned Observer Wednesday, Jun 29, 22 @ 5:15 pm
“Bailey will win somewhere between 82 to 88 counties.”

That’ll be huge news when the Illinois Electoral College convenes.

– MrJM

Comment by MisterJayEm Wednesday, Jun 29, 22 @ 5:23 pm
who is really behind Kari Steele? Something with her does not add up.

Comment by Amalia Wednesday, Jun 29, 22 @ 5:26 pm
=When you travel the entire state, Trump isn’t as despised as the media would have you believe.=

And yet he lost the state by 17 points.

Comment by Pundent Wednesday, Jun 29, 22 @ 6:16 pm
===And yet he lost the state by 17 points.===

If the plan is *thinking* Trump will become more popular by this November… more popular in fact that it helps Bailey… you should probably stop going to your dispensary so much.

Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, Jun 29, 22 @ 6:18 pm
and behind Kari Steele we find a developer and the FOP.

Comment by Amalia Wednesday, Jun 29, 22 @ 8:44 pm
====who is really behind Kari Steele? Something with her does not add up.====
Her family are long time south side politico’s. Her father was an
Appellate Court Judge and an alderman before that.

Comment by Been There Wednesday, Jun 29, 22 @ 9:06 pm
==== Starting with the candidate. Because a bad candidate overshadows everything. Valencia’s campaign didn’t lose, she did.===

I agree. I was a 100% behind her at the beginning. But oh those emails (sorry). I ended up voting for one of the Moore’s. Now probably going to hold a fundraiser for Brady.

Comment by Been There Wednesday, Jun 29, 22 @ 9:38 pm
@TNR re ComEd

You’re wrong there.

Comment by Tough scene Wednesday, Jun 29, 22 @ 9:42 pm
@wowie - Was there a Valencia campaign?

In Central Illinois, I saw a couple campaign signs for Alexi and David Moore, saw Alexi ads on TV, but zero evidence that a Valencia campaign existed.

My household has two regular Dem voters in it and we got no mail from the Valencia campaign.

Were things different in other parts of the state?

Comment by hisgirlfriday Thursday, Jun 30, 22 @ 9:13 am
Ventura worked her tail off for over a year. She’s run multiple times in the bulk of the district - city council (lost), county board (won), primarying Bill Foster (lost), now the 43rd. The so-called players in Will Co - JBT, Manley, Walsh Jr, the unions - thought that $800K could beat all of her work. So she’s right - the idea that hard work and door knocking can still beat $800K is a candle in the darkness. And now they’ve wasted $800K on a district that will likely be Dem in November when there are bubble districts nearby. Shame on them. Shame on the Senate Dems for endorsing this nonsense and not just staying out of it. And shame on the Will Co leaders for continually be afraid to stand up for ACTUAL Democratic values. John Connor and Pat McGuire did in that same seat. Why couldn’t Eric Mattson? Looking forward… Meg Cappel better vote the right way on upcoming abortion-related bills or she will absolutely be on the chopping block. Will Co voters have had enough of this BS. And I don’t even like Rachel Ventura.

Comment by NotYourGramma Thursday, Jun 30, 22 @ 10:41 am
PS - Manley lost for State central committee and Ventura’s picks for county board had successes… Destinee Ortiz beat the machine’s pick (Hedemark), & Sherry Williams won in her district. Jackie Traynere, long time incumbent, was targeted by the machine. Letters, mailers, endorsements against her. All paid for by the “Will County Democratic Victory Fund” PAC which took money from Pritzker that should’ve gone to the County party. Traynere walloped the competition. Shady dealings by the machine but some VERY notable losses. Again, Ventura’s right - a candle in the darkness.

Comment by NotYourGramma Thursday, Jun 30, 22 @ 10:44 am