State Sen. Bill Brady won the Republican primary for governor by 193 votes — or .02 percent, according to a final tally by the Illinois State Board of Elections.
Both Brady and runner-up state Sen. Kirk Dillard of Hinsdale have scheduled news conferences this afternoon to discuss the race, in the wake of the state board’s official tally announcement.
Walking into today’s hearing to approve the final tally of statewide votes in the Feb. 2 primary, Dillard’s campaign believed he was about 247 votes behind Brady.
Dillard has refused to concede the race for weeks, instead saying he wanted to make sure every last vote was counted and double checked in a primary that drew about three quarters of a million ballots.
Previously, Dillard said he would only consider a costly and legally difficult recount push if he came within 100 votes or fewer of Brady.
On Thursday, Dillard campaign spokesman Wes Bleed said the veteran DuPage County lawmaker would likely concede if the final vote tally was at about 247 votes or greater.
“It will be the concluding statement of the campaign if the numbers remain as they are,” said campaign spokesman Wes Bleed.
If so, it would be a tough end for Dillard, who cobbled together an unlikely coalition of unions and conservative icons while promoting his endorsement from former Gov. Jim Edgar. Dillard has maintained that he would have won the race if the primary wasn’t so packed with fellow suburbanites.
Dillard didn’t win any of the collar counties or Chicago, loosing that top spot to former Illinois Republican Party Chairman Andy McKenna and former Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan in different locations.
McKenna outspent his rivals considerably and Ryan had the best name recognition in the field, but started late and lacked the funds to mount an effective campaign.
Brady was the lone downstate candidate in the Republican primary.
The businessman ran and lost in the 2006 GOP primary for governor, but pulled ahead this time by gaining a clear majority of support south of Interstate 80. He was far outspent and ran no TV or radio ads in the Chicago area.
Both Dillard and Brady say either one will have a good shot at unseating Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn. He won a razor-thin victory in his party’s primary for the chance to be elected to the seat he was appointed to fill after Gov. Rod Blagojevich was thrown out of office. Green Party candidate Rich Whitney of Carbondale is also on the Nov. 2 ballot.
Brady and Dillard oppose Quinn’s call for tax hikes to balance the state’s massive $13 billion budget shortfall, instead offering generalized plans for long-term spending reforms and unspecified service cuts to bridge the funding gap.
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