[TNCMAXQ]

Was Ryan really ahead in that race? I don’t remember there being any polls. Hard to believe he would have won in any case. Even if it had not been for that fake scandal I suspect he would not have been able to compete financially so 0bama would have won anyway. Plus Kerry was winning the state easily that year.

[originalbuckeye]

I wasn't living in Illinois at the time but my recollection was that Ryan was winning. I still have many friends and relatives in the state. One Conservative friend actually voted for Obama saying ‘the Republican party had to import someone no one knew so I voted for the guy who was actually from here’. The R Candidate was Alan Keyes IIRC and he wasn't living in Illinois at the time.