McKenna concedes but top two GOP gov. hopefuls still deadlocked
Third-place governor hopeful Andy McKenna conceded the Republican primary Thursday, as did his primary running mate, suburban state Sen. Matt Murphy, while the top two vote-getters in the governor's race remained in wait-and-see mode before deciding their next move.
McKenna, who put more than $2 million of his own money into the race and far outspent his five challengers, said he would support whoever eventually locks up the party's nomination for governor. He came in about 10,000 votes under the lead candidate but didn't concede Tuesday night.
"There is simply too much at stake in this election to allow party infighting to distract us from our mission," McKenna said in his concession statement issued to the media Thursday afternoon.
Murphy, of Palatine, also conceded to Edwardsville businessman Jason Plummer in the lieutenant governor's race. Plummer held a lead of about 5,000 votes.
"Republicans have a lieutenant governor nominee we can be proud to support," Murphy said.
State Sen. Bill Brady of Bloomington remains ahead of runner-up state Sen. Kirk Dillard of Hinsdale in the Republican primary for governor by about 400 votes at last count, with nearly all the ballots tallied. But Brady has not yet declared victory, nor has Dillard conceded.
A final resolution is not expected for days. And a potential recount, a legally challenging and costly option in Illinois, cannot even be requested until early March when the vote totals are made official. Candidates were leaving discussion of that option until later.
"We are still watching everything and trying to get a handle on where votes are and trying to figure out what the next thing to do is," said Dillard spokesman Wes Bleed.
Brady's campaign sent out a message to supporters late Wednesday saying, "We're confident our vote will hold up and we will move onto victory in November."
McKenna had attacked Dillard for appearing in a primary campaign ad for Barack Obama and for leaving the window open to raising taxes down the road. McKenna was chairman of the Illinois Republican Party for four years after his failed primary Senate bid in 2004.
Now, Brady and Dillard are attempting to portray an amicable stalemate to voters as they debate what to do internally. Both also say they will be the eventual primary winner.
Dillard is hoping the remaining absentee ballots - those postmarked by Monday but not received until after the election - and provisional votes will put him over Brady.
Dillard did well in the Chicago area and suburbs, but Brady dominated returns from downstate, a base of support he has been cultivating since his failed 2006 primary bid. The suburban vote was largely split among Dillard of Hinsdale, McKenna of Chicago and former Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan of Elmhurst.