What suburban Romney, Obama delegates will do next
SPRINGFIELD — The final days of the Republican race for president in Illinois were hectic, so much so that Mitt Romney delegate Gabriela Wyatt of Aurora hadn't even heard by Wednesday morning whether she had won.
“I'm hoping somebody lets me know soon,” she said.
Someone did. And she did.
In fact, Romney's full slate of suburban delegates won, thereby helping carry Illinois decisively for the former Massachusetts governor.
Unlike many other states, in Illinois, it's the individual delegate selections voters make that arguably matter the most because those winners are the people who will choose a nominee at the Republican convention in Tampa late this summer. And with the nomination still up in the air, the candidates are clawing for every last delegate.
The Associated Press reported that Romney won 41 of Illinois' available 54 delegates on Tuesday, increasing his lead over former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum, who won 10 delegates.
Voters picked delegates from each of Illinois' 18 congressional districts. Fifteen more at-large delegates will be chosen at the state's GOP convention in June.
Wyatt first ran as a Romney delegate in 2008 and lost, only to be elected at-large at the Illinois GOP convention as a delegate for then-candidate John McCain.
The suburban Romney delegates who won are a mix of Republicans, from higher-profile state lawmakers to lesser-known party faithful. They pledge allegiance to a candidate, then are elected by voters to go to the party's national nominating convention.
Steve Kim of Northbrook, who ran statewide for attorney general in 2010, said the set of Romney's delegates who won reflect the state itself.
“It's a miniature of the entire state of Illinois,” Kim said.
Now, the elected delegates will be tasked with leading Romney's campaign in Illinois in the general election, perhaps a steep uphill battle in a state that recently has voted solidly Democratic with one of its own, President Barack Obama, running on the other side.
“I don't think the camp is prepared to write off Illinois,” said Schaumburg resident Joseph Folisi, a winning Romney delegate. “We'll work hard and we'll see how it goes.”
Obama delegates also were chosen by primary voters Tuesday, and their convention likely will feature less drama as Obama runs unopposed.
Obama delegate and state Rep. Linda Chapa LaVia of Aurora said she sees her role as stirring up the party faithful — particularly women and Latinos — in advance of the November election.
She said a lot of Obama supporters in 2008 were first-time voters, and Democrats have to work to prevent them from becoming apathetic in the second go-round.
“There's this lull,” Chapa LaVia said.
In the Republican race, Romney leads the delegate count with 563, according to The Associated Press count. Santorum has 263 delegates, Newt Gingrich has 135 and Ron Paul has 50.
It will take 1,144 delegates to win the Republican nomination and the chance to take on Obama this fall.