CHICAGO — State Sen. Bill Brady officially captured the Republican nomination for Illinois governor on Friday after a month of uncertainty, setting up a stark contrast for voters between him and Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn.
Brady’s victory came by just 193 votes out of more than 767,000 cast, but that was enough to persuade second-place finisher Kirk Dillard to concede. Brady will now focus on Quinn, with whom he differs on social issues, economic policy and plans for closing the state’s record $13 billion deficit.
“Gov. Quinn is a nice man, but there are clear and distinct policy differences between the governor and myself,” Brady said. “He believes he needs to raise your taxes, increase the size of government and keep things as the status quo.”
Republicans had cast their ballots Feb. 2, but with the race so tight, Dillard insisted on waiting for official results before deciding whether to concede or seek a recount. The State Board of Elections said Friday that its official count showed Brady did win. Dillard quickly threw his support to Brady.
“Illinois is a state in crisis,” Dillard said. “Pat Quinn cannot lead, and he shows no urgency in putting the people of Illinois who are unemployed back to work.”
Quinn, who inherited the job when former Gov. Rod Blagojevich was ousted, said Friday he looks forward to facing Brady and discussing the “Grand Canyon” of differences between them.
“I believe in fighting hard for everyday working people, making sure they get a decent wage, making sure their working conditions are fair,” Quinn said. “I believe in health care. I also believe in equal pay for equal work.”
Quinn, 61, is a Chicago resident familiar to voters across the state from his year as governor and his long history as a consumer activist. Brady, 48, a Bloomington legislator, is little-known in the Chicago region, where most voters live.
The election results illustrate the challenge that presents for Brady. Only 23,579 of Brady’s votes came from Cook County and the five collar counties.
“Bill needs to get a foothold in … suburban Chicago immediately,” said Dillard, who urged him to spend time in the region and quickly raise the money that will be needed to buy advertising.
Quinn is a liberal on social issues and an outspoken advocate of raising taxes to help maintain state services. Brady opposes abortion and gun control and maintains that government spending should be slashed to close the biggest deficit in Illinois history.
Quinn’s experience is serving in public office or acting as a government watchdog and consumer advocate. Brady is a businessman and real estate developer who has spent 17 years in the Illinois legislature.
Brady is likely to focus his campaign on three issues: jobs, taxes and prisoners.
With Illinois unemployment in double digits, Brady can argue to voters that Quinn — and before him, Blagojevich — have helped drive the state economy into a ditch. He can point out that Quinn wants to raise income taxes, taking more money out of voters’ wallets and dealing the economy another blow.
Quinn also might be vulnerable over his administration’s early release of prisoners, some of them violent offenders who went on to commit new offenses. Quinn halted two early release programs after they turned into a political embarrassment.
However, Brady’s first attempt on Thursday to take advantage of the early release controversy turned into an embarrassment for Brady himself. Questions at a news conference revealed Brady’s claims about an accused Springfield murderer were wrong and that Brady didn’t know that the names of those released under the program had been made public by the Department of Corrections.
Rep. Tom Cross, the top Republican in the Illinois House, said Brady must offer a competent, low-tax, pro-jobs alternative to Quinn.
“He is the perfect candidate to articulate those views,” Cross said.
Quinn is likely to focus on Brady’s conservative social views.
Brady opposes abortion even when a pregnancy results from rape or incest. He opposes both civil unions for gay people and laws protecting them from housing discrimination. He doesn’t believe humans contribute to global warming. And he wants to eliminate the State Board of Education.
“He may represent the extreme fringe of the right wing, but he certainly does not represent the people of Illinois,” Quinn’s campaign said Friday.
Officials said the Republican primary race was perhaps the closest statewide election in Illinois history. Brady captured 20.26 percent of the vote, while Dillard got 20.24 percent. The 193-vote margin amounts to less than two votes for each of Illinois’ 102 counties.
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Associated Press Writer Deanna Bellandi contributed to this report. Wills reported from Springfield.
Read the original article from The State Journal-Register.