Riverside resident Judy Baar Topinka confirmed Monday that she is seriously exploring a run for governor in 2006. Although the current Illinois state treasurer and former state Republican Party chair has not officially announced her intention to run in a bid to unseat Democratic incumbent Rob Blagojevich, she said that a recent poll by her organization was very encouraging.
“I’m seriously taking a look at it,” Topinka said. “The first step was having the poll done, and it shows that if the election were held now, I’d be in a statistical tie with Blagojevich in a head-to-head competition.”
News of a possible run by Topinka surfaced Monday, and an announcement on whether Topinka will indeed run for governor is expected after the current legislative session ends, perhaps later this spring or in the summer.
“It’s still early in the game,” said Topinka, who also writes a general interest column for the Landmark and is the paper’s one-time owner. “I still don’t know who’s running, and that’s important information. I never make a decision lightly.”
While Blagojevich is not expected to face any competition in the Democratic primary, the Republican field is predicted to be a crowded one, and several names have already surfaced, including U.S. Rep. Ray LaHood, former State Board of Education Chair Rod Gidwitz, DuPage County State’s Attorney Ron Birkett, former U.S. Senate candidate Jim Oberweis, State Sen. Bill Brady and State Sen. Steve Rauschenberger.
Topinka, a moderate, will need to rally support from a party that has become more fractured in recent years.
“We do have different ideas and differences of opinion, but we’ve still been able to pull the party together from literally nothing,” Topinka said. “The one thing that unites us is that the public would like to see a change.”
?”Bob Uphues
