Here comes the Republican National Convention.
State Treasurer Dan Rutherford is there as Illinois chairman of the Mitt Romney campaign. It is at the convention that Romney will be nominated for president, though there is no suspense in that. But Rutherford says the convention provides an opportunity for the party to place its supporting actors before the public.
“Some of the speakers at the Republican National Convention, if we didn’t have the convention, wouldn’t be showcased. We’re taking about Condoleezza Rice, we’re talking about Tim Pawlenty and Chris Christie and folks like that, so there is value in the conventions if not just in the act of selecting the nominee” he said.
The Illinois contingent in Tampa consists of 69 delegates, plus alternates, spouses and sponsors for a total of about 350.
Illinois has evolved into a “blue state,” but there are still plenty of Republicans – and plenty of opinions. Those who could be considering a 2014 gubernatorial run say the focus now is to get Mitt Romney elected president. Certainly, you would expect Romney’s Illinois chairman, state Treasurer Dan Rutherford, to say that’s his top political priority now:
“Second to that is electing Republican members on the county boards,” he says. “I think that’s where my party needs to build.”
The 2010 race featured a Republican primary in which fewer than 200 votes separated the winner, State Sen. Bill Brady (R-Bloomington), from State Sen. Kirk Dillard (R-Hinsdale). Brady then came within 32,000 votes of Gov. Pat Quinn. Both men will be deciding after the upcoming election what to do in 2014. They differ, though, over whether a crowded primary – such as 2010’s, in which seven men received votes at the end – is a good thing.
“I’m all for inclusion,” says Brady. “Everyone (in 2010) said, well, there was just too many people in it, resources were wasted. That wasn’t the case … the more the merrier, in my opinion.”
“We need a smaller field of candidates,” says Dillard. “Republicans need to use their energies and their financial resources against Democrats in November.”
State Sen. Matt Murphy (R-Palatine) says the fact that he is running for re-election to a two-year term – meaning if he wins, he’d have to give up the Senate seat to run for governor – will not be a factor in deciding whether to run: “If there is support for me to run, I would be willing to run regardless of the term. If there isn’t support for me to run, I wouldn’t run, even if I were in the middle of a four-year (term).”
What about U. S. Rep. Aaron Schock (R-Peoria)? He hasn’t discussed his political plans beyond his current re-election race, but University of Illinois political science professor Kent Redfield says America’s youngest Congressman is acting like someone who wants to return to Illinois to run for governor: “I think being a member of the legislature – of the U. S. Congress, even – if you’re in the majority in the House, is not a lot of fun, and I think people feel like they can have a bigger impact when they’re governor than being one of 435 Congressmen.”
