SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The chance to help pick his running mate offers Gov. Pat Quinn a rare political opportunity. It also offers political dangers.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The chance to help pick his running mate offers Gov. Pat Quinn a rare political opportunity. It also offers political dangers. When the winner of the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor withdrew from the race amid scandal, it opened the door for Quinn to lobby for a replacement — someone who he thinks will benefit him the most. Maybe a candidate who appeals to skeptical voters or balances his views with different beliefs. But the process could anger voters who believe he overlooked a group or a region when selecting his running mate. On Wednesday, the Coalition of African-American Leaders urged party officials to give the nomination to Art Turner, a veteran black legislator from Chicago who came in second in last month’s primary. Rep. Mike Boland dropped out of the contest on Wednesday and endorsed Turner, saying the nomination should go to someone who ran in the primary. "Art Turner came in second in the primary voting and that has to mean something," Boland, D-East Moline, said in a statement. But there are indications that Quinn is seriously looking at Sen. Susan Garrett, a white legislator from the Chicago suburb of Lake Forest who did not run in the primary. She might help Quinn among women, a group where polls suggest he has weak support, and attract suburban swing voters. Because of her work on government reforms, Garrett also could support Quinn’s image as a reformer. But she also might reinforce doubts about Quinn’s proposal to raise income taxes. She voted against a tax hike last year and said the governor still hasn’t made his case for an increase. Normally, candidates for governor don’t choose a running mate — voters do. This year, the Democratic winner was Scott Lee Cohen, a pawn shop owner and political newcomer who spent heavily on television and radio advertising. After the election, word of his past legal troubles created a furor. He was accused of domestic violence, including holding a knife to an ex-girlfriend’s throat, steroid abuse and failing to pay child support. Cohen denied the abuse claims, but Democratic leaders soon pressured him into withdrawing from the race. The job of picking a new nominee fell to the Democratic State Central Committee, which interviewed more than 100 applicants and narrowed the field to 17 finalists. It is scheduled to choose the winner Saturday. Quinn said he will announce his preference before the committee makes its choice. The committee doesn’t have to side with Quinn, but it would undercut Quinn — the party’s nominee for governor — if Democratic leaders rejected his pick. The Quinn campaign declined to discuss the situation Wednesday. Pat Brady, chairman of the Illinois Republican Party, said he doesn’t see Quinn’s choice as a key issue in the race for governor. He said the party is more likely to focus on Quinn’s management and his ties to former Gov. Rod Blagojevich than on his pick for lieutenant governor. Boland, the former candidate who endorsed Turner, said Quinn’s choice will reveal something about the governor’s judgment and priorities, and is a way for Quinn to reach out to different voters. "Whatever choice you make can make a difference in the election," Boland said. Rep. Eddie Washington, D-Waukegan, represents much of the same area that Garrett represented when she served in the House. He praised her skills, but said Turner deserves the nomination, partly because he could energize black voters who might be disenchanted after a primary battle featured old footage of the first black mayor of Chicago harshly criticizing Quinn. "That’s the big difference. It may be the winning difference," Washington said. But Sen. Rickey Hendon, D-Chicago, predicted that black voters would support Quinn regardless of his lieutenant governor. More important, Hendon said, is for Quinn to appeal to women and add some balance to a ticket dominated by Chicago residents. "If the Democrats believe the numbers, a white woman from outside of Cook County makes sense to me," Hendon said. Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.
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