2006 - Gubernatorial Election

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The 2006 Illinois Governor race was between incumbent Governor Rod Blagojevich and State Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka.

Blagojevich’s first term was marked by near-constant federal investigations into his administration.  Blagojevich’s own father-in-law, Dick Mell, accused him of selling state board appointments in return for campaign contributions.  The Topinka campaign called Blagojevich the most investigated governor in Illinois history.  Attorney General Lisa Madigan, a fellow Democrat, refused to endorse Blagojevich for reelection.  However, Blagojevich spent $27 million on his campaign, compared to $6 million from the Topinka campaign.

Blagojevich’s massive money advantage was enough to buy him victory.  He defeated Topinka 49% to 39%.  Two years and one month later, he was arrested at his home for corruption on a massive scale.  If enough voters had taken a firm stance against Blagojevich in 2006, Illinois could have been spared his farcical second term, and the national embarrassment of his arrest.  Patrick Hughes was among those voters who refused to take a firm stand against Blagojevich; he DID NOT vote in the 2006 election. 

SPECIAL NOTE:  There is a subset of Illinois Republicans who insisted at the time that Topinka was no better than Rod Blagojevich, so what was the point of even voting?  I do not count myself among them, and I do not know Patrick Hughes’ thinking on the matter.  However, even if Patrick Hughes did feel that Topinka was no improvement on Blagojevich, that does not excuse him for skipping the 2006 Republican primary, where he could have voted for a candidate more to his liking.