TRIBUNE EXCLUSIVE
Topinka tells GOP: I'll run for governor
By Rick Pearson
Tribune political reporter
Published November 7, 2005
State Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka has told leading Republicans that she intends to run for governor, dramatically recasting the GOP's prospects for capturing an office it had held for a quarter of a century, sources familiar with the decision said Sunday.
Topinka's move ends weeks of political indecision and personal introspection as she weighed whether to seek a fourth term as treasurer, a post she would be the odds-on favorite to win, or risk a more brutal fight for the state's top job.
A decision to run in the March 21 Republican primary also could lead to a reshaping of the current GOP field for governor, in which five men have announced or are considering a run. Four of them are social conservatives; Topinka is a social moderate.
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http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0511070247nov07,1,736732.story?coll=chi-news-hed&ctrack=1&cset=trueThis is bad news for Illinois Democrats and I expect this governor seat to go from blue to red should Topinka be nominated.
Rod Blagojevich is embroiled in scandals within his administration and his approval rating in the state is nearly as low as Bush's is in the nation. Fitzgerald has been investigating his administration and it doesn't look good. On top of that, the only potential threat to Blagojevich in the primaries won't run against him, so he has a clear field for the nomination.
The only chance that Blagojevich has is the fact that Topinka is pro-choice, so the whacko base of the GOP in Illinois might nominate a far-right mouthbreather that would be unacceptable overall to Illinois, thus resulting in a protest vote against the whacko.
Unfortunately, I expect Topinka to get the nomination. Since the IL GOP crashed and burned after the Ryan fiasco, she is the single most influential Republican in the state and is the only Republican holding a statewide office at the current time.
Watch this state flip.
Developing...