R24, I think the names have a lot to do with it. Patrick Henry Hayes (he didn’t use his middle name in previous campaigns) has a patriotic, down home sound. You can’t say the name about the name French Hill. He sounds like the kind of man who wears a white suit, sips mint julep on the porch of his plantation, golfs at the country club, and drives a foreign luxury car.
Which would be fine if he were running in CD-3, but he’s not.
It sounds stupid, but “independent” voters aren’t known for their brain power, names can be a factor. Judicial candidates with Irish names do well in the White areas of Chicago.