Thursday, January 30, 2025

Landslide Martin

Desperate Me
There will be a special election to replace Dan McConchie -- and you are not invited. GOP party bosses will gather in a secret conclave to ...
choose someone to finish McConchie's term. The successor then would be able to run for election in 2026 with some legislative experience and, ideally, a healthy campaign war chest.
An 'unwavering' public servant: Republican state Sen. Dan McConchie resigning
Who will the successor be? It's no secret: he won't be you.

It is also not a secret that backbench State Rep Martin McLaughlin wants the job. He said so in a press release:
State Rep. Martin McLaughlin said Tuesday he is interested in filling the Illinois Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Dan McConchie.
State Rep. McLaughlin lobbies for McConchie's Senate seat
McLaughlin says he is a powerhouse at the polls:
In my last election, I faced a $3.8 million opposition effort and still won decisively
State Rep. McLaughlin lobbies for McConchie's Senate seat
For the record, McLaughlin's "decisive" win was by a whopping 47 votes. Out of nearly 60,000 cast.  That is a difference of 0.08 percent.  A typical ICE dragnet operation has a rounding error larger than that.

To put that number in perspective, had 24 Martin McLaughlin supporters got confused on election day and voted against him, McLaughlin would have lost.

It all comes down to the party bosses who will be choosing the new State Senator. If there are fewer than 47 of them, McLaughlin may have a chance.

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