Rep. Aaron Schock Won't Run For Governor
By Chuck Sudo in News on Apr 26, 2013 4:40PM
Cross Aaron Schock off the list of contenders for the 2014 GOP nomination for governor. The Peoria congressman known as "America's Fittest Congressman" announced Thursday night he won't throw his hat into next year's gubernatorial campaign. The Sun-Times first reported Schock's decision, citing sources. Schock's longtime campaign manager, Steve Shearer, told the Peoria Journal-Star he had "no doubt" Schock could have won the GOP nomination but that the congressman believed he could effect an immediate change helping to draft tax reform in Washington as a member of the House Ways and Means Committee.
Shearer may be right. Schock has proven to be an adept fundraiser, with $2.7 million in his campaign fund, and he raised $750,000 in the first quarter of 2013. He would have been a frontrunner in a field that currently includes Illinois Treasurer Dan Rutherford, State Sens. Kirk Dillard and Bill Brady and Chicago businessman Bruce Rauner. But the campaigns for the GOP and Democratic gubernatorial nominations are in a holding pattern as all eyes are on Lisa Madigan, who's expected to enter the race but hasn't committed yet, despite meeting with top supporters and fundraisers in an effort to gauge their interest in her running.