WGN Republican Gubernatorial Debate
It's pretty boring and turgid, and I just posted it because it's probably the best way to make the point here. There are five or six Republicans in Illinois trying to unseat Democratic Governor J. B. Pritzker. There's not much of a chance--in fact--there's not really any chance that any of these candidates will even make this a reasonably close race, but they're sure trying hard. And they are beating each other senseless in a war of words unlike any partisan primary race I've ever witnessed. And that's not just rhetoric or exaggeration, they really are.
Governor Pritzker is One of the Leading Democratic Governors in the Nation
Illinoisans have been blessed. As one of the most populous states in the country, with its third most populous city and a major transportation hub at what is one of the world's busiest airports, COVID could have been a major disaster in this state. But our governor was on top of it. He worked with Chicago officials to make sure there were enough staffed hospital beds to cover any contingency, and in fact, while cases were on the rise everywhere, Chicago's contingency hospitals never got close to capacity.
Yeah, there were restrictions and mandates, shut-downs and closings. But this governor always made sure to soften the impact by using the state government to help out as much as possible. There's a long list of his accomplishments, not all of them popular, but all of them effective in making Illinois one of the better states in which to live during the pandemic. And a lot of people recognize that.
He's spending a little bit of time and money campaigning during the primary. Nothing negative, nothing attacking his potential GOP opponents, but ads pointing to the investments made in creating job growth, excellent job growth in fact, in places where industry and manufacturing were drying up before he became governor. He's done a tremendous amount in that regard, job growth in Illinois is as healthy as it is anywhere else in the country. He has a long list of positive achievements on which to run, so there's no need to attack his potential GOP opponents.
Quite a Contrast on the Other Side
In true Trumpie fashion, the Republicans are ripping into each other, laying out all of their faults and making the case that none of them should be allowed to get anywhere near the governorship of Illinois, based on their total lack of character, lying about their record, and--this is a good one--lying about all of the monetary contributions they are getting from Democrats, including from Governor Pritzker. The lies are outlandish. But they are giving the Democrats their campaign theme.
They've got some time, between now and the primary, to really hand this to the Governor on a silver, or perhaps even gold, platter. On social media, even conservative Republicans are complaining about the candidates. The media is trying really hard to be fair, at least equally to the GOP candidates, but they're having trouble not pointing out polling data that shows this will be a runaway for Governor Pritzker.
The debate was relatively tame, and missing one of the most caustic, vitriolic candidates, Richard Irvin, controversial mayor of the city of Aurora who can't figure out which political party with which to side. He's been the accuser-in-chief, not holding back anything for the sake of party loyalty, lest one of his opponents be the nominee. He'll burn the house down if he doesn't get the nomination, I guarantee it.
The Pritzker campaign doesn't really have to take notes. They can continue to run as they are, touting the governor's record and not getting in the way of what is a vicious GOP fight. The Republicans in Illinois will do a great job of convincing voters to re-elect J. B. Pritzker.
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