Lisa Madigan Inching Closer To Gubernatorial Run

By Chuck Sudo in News on Jan 23, 2013 5:50PM

The Sun-Times reports that Illinois Attorney General is “seriously considering” a 2014 run for governor and has reached out to special interest groups to gauge their interest in supporting her if she decides to seek the job.

Sen. Dick Durbin told the Sun-Times' Lynn Sweet:

“She had made special outreach to labor and they know it, they’ve noticed in terms of her showing up at events and the like,” Durbin told me. “I don’t think she has made a final decision. I know she is in the process of making a decision.”

If Madigan does decide to run for governor, she would immediately become the favorite for the Democratic nomination. A November 2012 survey from Public Policy Polling showed Madigan would hold a 64-20 head-to-head advantage over Gov. Pat Quinn in a primary race. Sweet noted Madigan wouldn’t shy away from a challenge for the nomination from former White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley. More telling regarding a Madigan run is Durbin’s position to stay out of the way for now.

Capitol Fax’s Rich Miller, in his syndicated column on the possibility of a Bill Daley run, also touched on some of the strengths of, and motivation for, a Madigan gubernatorial campaign.

After years of dismissing the prospect, Madigan seemed almost eager to take on the challenge when we spoke on Election Night in November.

She flatly denied any interest in a state Supreme Court bid, saying such a job would be too boring. She seemed steamed at Chicago reporters, who had asked her whether she could be a governor and raise her young children.

And she pointed to her huge campaign fund, which currently contains about $3.6 million. And one early poll had Madigan leading Quinn 64 percent to 20 percent.

The Daley people say they aren’t factoring Madigan into the equation just yet. If she runs, she runs. But now they aren’t worrying too much about it. We’ll see.

One thing all the pundits and experts can agree on: Quinn has never been more vulnerable and we’re more than a year away from the primary.