Illinois primary: GOP jockeys to make gains in Obama's home state

Illinois voters head to the polls Feb. 2 with an eye to replacing two tarnished officeholders: ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich, indicted on federal corruption charges, and Sen. Roland Burris (D), named by Mr. Blagojevich to fill President Obama's Senate seat in a process many see as tainted.

The primary election, the nation's first in the 2010 season, will yield a clearer picture of Republicans' chances of stealing these two seats from Democrats in a state that is reliably "blue."

Heading into the primary, which last year was moved up to February, voters are sorting through a profusion of candidates on both sides and in both contests.

"Reform is on everyone's mind. All of the candidate forums [and] debates, and most of the interviews, have put ... good government front and center, and candidates are being forced to answer questions" about the issue, says Andy Shaw of the Better Government Association, a watchdog group that has battled corruption in the state. "The bad news is that we're likely to see one of the lowest primary turnouts ever because it's so early.... We may not end up with our best candidates because of this peculiar anomaly."

In both parties, the race for the governor's seat has narrowed. Democratic Party candidates Gov. Pat Quinn and state Comptroller Dan Hynes are neck and neck, according to recent polls.

On the Republican side, the lead of former front-runner Jim Ryan seems to have evaporated, pitting him in a tight battle with former state GOP chairman Andy McKenna and state Sen. Kirk Dillard.

In the Senate race, Democratic candidate Jacob Meister pulled out of the race Sunday, throwing his support behind state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias.

Illinois voters do not register by party and can vote in the GOP or Democratic primary. Key issues: the dismal economy, a $12 billion state budget gap (and attendant service cuts), and candidate ethics.

The governor's race

In the Democratic primary, the known quantity is Gov. Quinn (formerly Blagojevich's lieutenant governor), who has struggled with imploding state finances and who has pushed through tepid ethics reform. His challenger, Mr. Hynes, is hammering Quinn about the early release of some criminal offenders to save money.

On the Republican side are no fewer than seven candidates. Mr. Ryan, former state attorney general, has run a lackluster campaign so far and is facing off against several more-conservative candidates. They may carve up the conservative vote so that none gives him a real run for his money.

The governor is trying to distance himself from his former boss, emphasizing his credentials as a reformer. In his State of the State speech in January, Quinn barely mentioned Illinois's budget deficit or his bid to raise income taxes to address it. Rather, he praised campaign-finance reforms he helped bring about, even though many have criticized them as having too many loopholes.

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