Any other candidate would be right in the same area, ok Ditka might have gotten to 35%. The race was lost when Ryan was swirling the drain, if not before.
it turns out that this barack gentleman is a gift from "candidate heaven". I'm not sure anyone can beat him; this is the same state that elected carol mosely braun, for heaven's sake, and she barely escaped indictment after her whirlwind tour of washington DC.
The race was lost when the Republicans kicked the chair out from under Fitzgerald after tightening a noose aroun his neck.
I'm continually astonished how the Republicans have completely blown it in Illinois. I have a difficult time conceiving of a Republican ascendancy there anytime in the next 6-8 years.