I voted for Huckabee 7 times
February 7th, 2008Or at least it felt that way, since in addition to putting the check mark by “Mike Huckabee”, I got to check three delegates and alternate delegates. I don’t think any of them won, but it sure felt good anyway! And now that Romney’s calling it quits, the race has gotten exciting. Huckabee’s excellent Super Tuesday performance in the red states of the south, gives him a clear advantage going into the convention. This is now a two-man race for the Republican nomination, and Huckabee will finally get the attention he deserves.
Since the primary is over, yes the ads are coming down. But they will go back up after the convention, when Huckabee is on the ticket :)
Will this be Ruth Munson’s last stand?
In Cook County, Keith Farnham, the Democratic candidate for Illinois House 43, took 1,350 votes. Ruth Munson took 824. In Kane, Farnham took 4,266 votes. Munson took 2,774.
If Obama is anywhere near the ballot in November, the Democratic turnout advantage will be just as large–if not larger–in November. Driving through the east side of Elgin the other day, what really struck me was how many signs for Democratic candidates are out there. It’s clear that the the political shift has accelerated, and every contest from here forward will be seriously contested.
Schmitz survives
Tim Schmitz took 9,273 votes (55.7%) in Kane County to Jim Krenz’s 5,386 (32.4%). Krenz conducted a good campaign, and remains a viable candidate in future elections.
Though Krenz ran a good campaign, the same cannot be said of Tim Schmitz, who as part of Illinois GOP leadership, denied Jim Krenz access to Voter Vault, the Republican voter database. Schmitz received exclusive access to that database in this campaign. Is it any wonder that Illinois GOP is in a morass?
What now for Lauzen?
Jim Oberweis beat Chris Lauzen by a large margin of 56% to 42%. Oberweis had a serious money advantage, sure, but Lauzen was not a strong candidate to start with. On the issues, when he had the courage to take them–unfortunately not often enough, he was usually right. He has a good conservative record. But it was hard to see his record, because it was obscured by a blur of foibles.
Should he choose to remain in the senate, we can be assured of a consistent conservative voter–and that’s a good thing, but this could also be a good time for him to move on.
Disappointing finish for Foster
Bill Foster’s win over John Laesch by a mere 351 votes means he hobbles into the general election as a somewhat less credible candidate. The amount of money he spent should have assured a much more sizable victory. And those who chose not to back Laesch because they thought he couldn’t win probably feel a little foolish now, because a little more money could probably have erased a 351-vote margin.
Actually, that’s not true about Schmitz. I called and asked about this voter vault thing, Schmitz doesn’t even use it nor does he have a thing to do with determining who has access to it.
Besides, Krenz could have purchased voter info. from the Clerks office, just like other candidates do. This voter vault thing is rather silly in the whole scheme of things.
The bottom line is that Schmitz’ campaign’s tone was positive and focused on his record and what he could do for the 49th. I don’t recall even a hint of that from Krenz.
Posted February 8th, 2008 at 11:00 amDisagree about the Munson thing. I think she’s a heck of a lot stronger than people take her for. May not always agree with her stance on the issues, do respect that she is reflective of her district.
Posted February 8th, 2008 at 5:34 pmTake a look again at the numbers: Looks like Schmitz had a tough time beating Krenz, having only recieved 63% of the vote according to Kane County Elections…..
Too bad people like BS lost their committeeman’s race…we’re really gonna be up a creek without their involvement now….(NOT!!)
Posted February 8th, 2008 at 5:46 pmsugar, you mean RS, not BS. Although, it does appear our RS doesn’t really have a sense of what he or she is talking about…
Perhaps if RS focused on reporting something a bit more unbiased, we’d actually have a pretty decent conversation going…
As for me, I’m gonna go back to cleaning out my sock drawer. It’s a whole lot more interesting, and a lot less full of crap.
Posted February 8th, 2008 at 10:29 pmThanks for leaving comments, everybody.
LJ, Thanks for the information about the Voter Vault. I still think though that if Schmitz did not want to deny Voter Vault access to Krenz, he could have told the Illinois GOP to give Krenz that access. Do you know if he ever communicated that message to them?
Grumpy, I don’t disagree with you. I was just pointing out the challenge that she faces in the upcoming election. As a Republican, she has my support.
BS, I’m sorry I don’t really follow your comment. Which committeemen races are you talking about? Who is BS?
Juniper, blogging is definitely about bias. And in fact, I think all media is biased, because people are biased. Better to be open about it then be insidious like the New York Times.
Posted February 8th, 2008 at 11:18 pmWhy would Schmitz do that? Again, he is not part of any decision making process.
Last time I checked, Krenz was a big boy and could do what other candidates have done for years: buy the info from the clerk’s office.
As stated earlier, in the whole scheme of things it is rather childish and silly to focus on something so irrelevant.
Posted February 9th, 2008 at 8:25 pmMaybe Krenz shouldn’t worry so much about Voter Vault and focus on picking up his signs scattered in the roadways.
Posted February 9th, 2008 at 11:07 pmVoter Vault is far more than just the information available at the clerk’s office.
Tim Schmitz was telling people to vote for him because he’s been there a long time and has influence, but when it comes to allowing a Republican candidate access to Voter Vault, he has no say?
He can’t have it both ways. Either he has influence with his party or he doesn’t.
Posted February 10th, 2008 at 12:22 amAs I said before, This Voter Vault thing is rather silly in the whole scheme of things. Seems more like sour grapes to me and grasping at straws.
Schmitz has plenty of influence, he’s just focused on less petty things.
Posted February 10th, 2008 at 11:52 amwho cares about some stupid voter database?
I care whether or not my elected officials are responsive to our needs. One thing I’ve always respected about Lauzen and Schmitz and Munson is they care about our area. And, they have a lot to show for it.
That’s why I’ll keep supporting them…
Posted February 10th, 2008 at 2:53 pmOK, you guys have the last word. Thanks for the vigorous discussion.
Posted February 11th, 2008 at 11:51 pm