Oberweis proposed game of chance to challenge Topinka (IL Governor Race)

Chicago Tribune ^ | March 18, 2006 | Carlos Sadovi and Liam Ford

[RWR8189]

At the end of a political campaign it's not uncommon for a candidate to grasp at straws, but Jim Oberweis literally proposed drawing straws to decide who should stay in the race for the Republican nomination for governor, two of his rivals said Saturday.

On the Democratic side, Ald. Richard Mell (33rd) extended his feud with his son-in-law, Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich, by featuring primary challenger Edwin Eisendrath at a bingo game of senior citizens in the ward. But Mell stopped short of a formal endorsement.

As the GOP candidates for governor fanned out across the state on the final weekend of the campaign, contenders Bill Brady and Ron Gidwitz said Oberweis early last week proposed a game of chance to decide which of the three should stay in the race with front-runner Judy Baar Topinka. Brady and Gidwitz said the odds were heavily stacked in Oberweis' favor.

"He wanted 10 straws and Brady and I each would have one straw," Gidwitz said Saturday, before the Elmhurst St. Patrick's Day Parade. He said Oberweis wanted 10 straws "because he's the leader and because neither one of us is, in his mind, in contention."

Gidwitz, a Chicago businessman, called the request "absurd" but said Oberweis was "totally serious" about it. Brady, a state senator from Bloomington and, like Oberweis, a conservative, said he received a similar request to draw straws.

"He said, `If God wanted you to be the candidate, it wouldn't matter how many straws you have,'." Brady recalled Oberweis saying. "I said, `Jim, I'm not interested.' It's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. The people of Illinois need to decide who the nominee should be, not straws."

[TitansAFC]

---"when was the last time a good conservative won state wide office in IL?"---

Peter Fitzgerald, eight years ago. It took something like 20,000,000 dollars of his own money, and a Dem candidate who was absolutely SWIMMING in new and daily corruption revelations (Carol Mosely Braun). But he was able to BARELY squeeze out a victory.

Oberweis would have the best shot since Fitzgerald, if only because Blago polls in the 30%s in this state and everybody wants him gone.

[TitansAFC]

---"I think the best thing to do is let the voters decide.
If Brady beats Oberweis, then isn't he the spoiler?"---

Yes, and if Andy Martin beats Judy Baar Topinka, she's the spoiler for the liberal Republicans. But neither one will happen.

[TitansAFC]

I'm voting for Sandy Wegman. Birkett and Rausch are both okay for Lt. Gov. But Sandy has really "taken one for the team" at the expense of her own campaign by turning her ads away from the Lt. Gov race and toward Judy Baar Topinka.

I think a good Conservative who basically martyrs their campaign for the good of the Conservative movement should be rewarded, so she has my vote. It is an heroic move on her part, and in my opinion she deserves my support.

Sandy Wegman for Lt. Gov.!!!!

[RHINO369]

"Oberweis would have the best shot since Fitzgerald, if only because Blago polls in the 30%s in this state and everybody wants him gone."

Exactly, this is probably the best shot we're going to have at getting a conservative in the governors mansion for a long time. Blago's probably done for as long as the republican is smart. However Topinka is no better than Blago, in fact shes worse because he policies will screw up IL the same as his, but Republicans will get the blame.

What with this defeatist attitude among supposed conservatives who decide that since its been a long time since a conservative won that its impossible and then instead we should run democrats against democrats in order to at least appear like we have some power.

For example people say we can't run a true conservative for president because he'll surly loose, yet the only really conservative we've ran in the last 25 years, Reagan won by the most votes than any other president in those 25 years on either side.

Conservatism is based on freedom, love of America, while liberalism is based on hatred of yourself, and emotion. I believe if we ran conservatives who could articulate their positions well they'd win alot more often than most give credit for.

[BlackElk]

By this time tomorrow night, the voters will have decided.

If Brady runs ahead of Oberweis AND loses a tight race to Toooooopinkovna and the combine, you are right that Oberweis would be the spoiler but that is not much more likely than the Libertarian Party or Constitution Party electing the next POTUS.

I talk like this regularly and I am not, please understand, being personally disrespectful to you.

[BlackElk]

The votes are in. I told ya so.

[Central IL Voter]

Okay. I'm sorry. I'm tired today. Long day, Long night. Worked as an election judge yesterday. While it was a loss for both of us yesterday, I have one good spot for me personally.

Bill Brady did win Champaign County. While some of you in the bigger counties may not see that as much. For some of us who have had the ground game going here, this is a big victory.

Here are the totals:

Out of 22,618 votes cast here are the total for Champaign county:

---

VOTES. . . . .PERCENT
BALLOTS CAST - GREEN. . . . . . . 45 * * * * * * .20
BALLOTS CAST - DEMOCRAT. . . . 7,161* * * * * *31.66
BALLOTS CAST - REPUBLICAN . . 14,293* * * * * *63.19
BALLOTS CAST - NONPARTISAN. .. 1,119* * * * * * 4.95


(WITH 117 OF 117 PRECINCTS COUNTED)
Bill Brady . . . . . . . . . . 6,400* * * * *45.15
Judy Baar Topinka. . . . . . . 4,586* * * * *32.35
Jim Oberweis . . . . . . . . . 2,364* * * * *16.68
Ron Gidwitz. . . . . . . . . . 764* * * * * 5.39
Andy Martin. . . . . . . . . . 54* * * * * *.38
WRITE-IN. . . . . . . . . . . 8* * * * * *.06
Over Votes . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Under Votes . . . . . . . . . . . 89


However the funniest part of the night was on the democratic side:

Edwin Eisendrath . . . . . . . . 3,504* * * * 52.75
Rod R. Blagojevich . . . . . . . 3,081* * * * 46.38

Blago lost Champaign County. lol That's too funny for me!