2014 primary: Union efforts hold Rauner to narrow win
Scroll down for a full list of election results from races where AFSCME made endorsements.
Despite an unprecedented $12 million in campaign spending, billionaire venture capitalist Bruce Rauner barely escaped the March 18 Republican gubernatorial primary, after union members all across Illinois came together to reject Rauner’s unrelenting attacks on working people and their right to have a voice in the political process.
Rauner had spent millions to saturate the airwaves with ads falsely attacking public employees and their unions, along with equally dishonest attempts to portray himself as a "regular guy" and respected businessman.
Without organized labor, Rauner very likely would have gotten away with hoodwinking Illinois voters. Pollsters predicted a double-digit margin of victory that would put momentum behind Rauner's attacks.
Instead, Rauner only narrowly survived elimination. Though he eked out a bare two-point win (40-38) over Senator Kirk Dillard, observers agreed that Rauner was wounded, and credited the Illinois labor movement in large measure for that dramatic shift. As the Chicago Sun-Times put it, "After going unchallenged for most of the early primary season, it turns out that the Rauner campaign bleeds when opponents fight back."
Rauner made public employees and their unions the #1 target in his campaign. He claimed that public employees who join unions are engaged in a "corrupt" enterprise and that public employee unions should not be allowed to exist. In a blatant attempt to mislead voters, Rauner alleged that public employees had "bribed" politicians to give them big pay increases and "free" health care.
That's why, when some 500 delegates from local unions across the state came to Springfield for the AFSCME PEOPLE Endorsement Conference in January, they voted overwhelmingly to make the defeat of Bruce Rauner a top priority for our union. And that is just what AFSCME and our labor partners did:
- Through TV and online advertising, we helped expose the real Bruce Rauner, an unethical vulture capitalist who made his billions through insider deals and inhumane practices.
- We made sure that union members were informed about Rauner’s determination to destroy unions and drive down wages and benefits of average working people.
- And we unified behind Kirk Dillard, the Republican candidate who could most likely beat Rauner.
The results of those efforts were significant. Just a few weeks ago, polls showed Rauner with a 20-point lead over all other Republicans, and Dillard stalled near 8%. But when all the votes were tallied yesterday, Dillard jumped to 38, and Rauner barely got by.
That’s what can happen when working families come together through their unions: We can take on a billionaire with the deepest pockets ever seen in Illinois politics—and almost win.
At the bottom of this page you'll find complete results of all races in which AFSCME made an endorsement in the primary election. Highlights include:
- In the 13th Congressional District, which runs southwest from Urbana to the Metro East, AFSCME-backed candidate Ann Callis beat out two opponents to win the right to take on Republican incumbent Rodney Davis in the fall.
- Five of nine AFSCME-endorsed candidates for Illinois House won their primaries:
- The most significant victory was in Chicago’s 39th District, where challenger Will Guzzardi soundly defeated Toni Berrios, who had the strong backing of the entire political establishment. In "the single most important legislative contest on the ballot" (Chicago Sun-Times), AFSCME worked alongside the teachers and other unions to achieve what Crain’s Chicago Business called "a big win for organized labor."
- AFSCME efforts also played a role in Kate Cloonen’s win in HD 79 in the Kankakee area. Unfortunately, two of the three candidates the union supported in House Republican primaries (Adam Johnson in HD 42 and Kevin Garner in HD 110) were defeated by candidates who support slashing public-employee pensions.
- AFSCME members in Will County had a big victory when Lauren Staley-Ferry defeated Diane Zigrossi, an incumbent county board member who refused to support AFSCME Local 1028’s strike for a fair contract. AFSCME-endorsed candidates also won in Cook, Champaign, Kankakee, Knox, and Lake counties.
Following are all candidates endorsed by AFSCME in the 2014 primaries and the results of those elections.
Constitutional Offices
Governor – Kirk Dillard (R) - L
Treasurer – Mike Frerichs (D) – W
Comptroller – Judy Baar Topinka (R) – W
U.S. Congress
CD04 – Luis Gutierrez (D) – W
CD13 – Ann Callis (D) – W
Illinois House of Representatives
HD20 – Mo Kahn (D) – W
HD26 – Jhatayn “Jay” Travis (D) – L
HD39 – Will Guzzardi (D) – W
HD40 – Nancy Schiavone (D) – L
HD42 – Adam Johnson (R) – L
HD79 – Kate Cloonen (D) – W
HD96 – Sue Scherer (D) – W, Michael Bell (R) – W
HD110 – Kevin Garner (R) – L
Illinois Appellate Court
1st District – Freddrenna M. Lyle (D) – L
Cook County Board
1st District – Richard Boykin (D) – W
4th District – Stanley Moore (D) – W
5th District – Deborah Sims (D) – W
8th District – Eddie Reyes (D) – L
Champaign County Board
7th District – C. Pius Weibel (D) – W
9th District – Shara Jo Harrison (D) – W
Kankakee County Board
4th District – Sam Payton (D) – W
Knox County Board
2nd District – Russell Nelson (D) – W
Lake County Sheriff
Jason Patt (D) – W
Rock Island County Board
5th District – Paris Fotos (D) – L
Will County Board
9th District – Lauren Staley- Ferry (D) - W