These days, Rich Williamson is in front of a television more than he is on it.
And although he`s a candidate for the U.S. Senate, he doesn`t get recognized much walking through the grocery store.
He`s not compelled to apologize for his current low profile, and it is easily explained: Williamson, 42, is running unopposed in the March 17 Republican primary.
As a candidate without an opponent, he has about as much drawing power as a shadow-boxing match.
The Democrats, on the other hand, are drawing a crowd with what is developing into a political brawl.
The race featuring incumbent U.S. Sen. Alan Dixon, Cook County Recorder of Deeds Carol Moseley Braun and Chicago attorney Albert Hofeld is the hottest in Illinois.
”Right now, the bulk of the coverage and attention is on the Democratic side,” Williamson said. ”That`s where the show is.”
Like Williamson, uncontested candidates in dozens of races across the state are simply biding their time, networking within their parties and establishing a financial foundation upon which they can build a campaign.
They are waiting for that point in the show when the script calls for them to make their entrance.
”They are lucky; they won`t have to do anything until the 4th of July,” said Joanne Dutcher Maxwell, who runs a public relations and political consulting firm in Naperville.
These invisible candidates watch with mixed emotions as those in the other party try to wound each other, all the while shoveling money into ads and other forms of publicity.
But some analysts and politicians believe there can be advantages in waging a primary battle.
It forces a candidate to focus his or her message. It galvanizes volunteers and attracts financial supporters. And it gets a candidate noticed. Barry W. Watkins, 44, who is running unopposed in the Democratic primary in the 6th Congressional District, which covers parts of Du Page and suburban Cook Counties, said he feels like a ”voice crying in the wilderness.”
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But Watkins` opponent in the general election, U.S. Rep. Henry Hyde, who is also running unopposed in the Republican primary, points out a sure advantage of getting a first-round bye.
”You don`t have to spend a lot of money winning a primary election,”
Hyde said.
Still, Hyde plays down the advantage of having an uncontested primary. Because he has only a two-year term and faces an election every other year, there is little down time.
”You`re always campaigning in this office,” Hyde said. ”The second year rolls around very quickly. You`re always making yourself accessible and visible. You attend every dinner and ribbon-cutting you`re invited to and some that you`re not. It`s a constant campaign effort.”
Jay Walker, the only Republican running in the South Side 1st Congressional District, hopes that redistricting will have diluted the district`s longtime Democratic majority.
But he apparently was the only Republican who thought so.
Six Democrats are running in that party`s primary, including incumbent Charles Hayes and Chicago Ald. Bobby Rush (2nd).
Being the lone man out has some advantages for Walker, an administrative law judge.
”When I go to a forum, you have six Democrats singing the same tune:
More federal programs; really extreme liberal postures on the issues,” said Walker, 33. ”When it comes my turn, by me being the only Republican, my position on a number of issues is fundamentally different. The contrast is very apparent.”
On the down side: No ink.
”The papers won`t cover an uncontested primary,” Walker said.
But the situation may not be so extreme in this election year. Because of remapping, unopposed candidates are more likely to be active early than in other years.
Remapping occurs every 10 years, when new U.S. census data requires legislative boundaries to be redrawn in an attempt to keep representation equitable.
”Virtually everyone who is running has some new territory, so he is introducing himself to new voters,” said Scott Palmer, a spokesman for U.S. Rep. J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), who is running in the 14th Congressional District.
Hastert`s campaign against Democrat Jonathan Reich, who is also running unopposed in his primary, will not get into full swing until the last eight to 10 weeks before the November election, Palmer said.
Candidates who do not have a contested primary in March are now developing strategies to capitalize on the benefits and minimize the liabilities of the situation.
”He should just run like the devil himself is after him,” Maxwell said. Williamson put it this way: ”It`s like running the 440 (yard run). You run as hard as you can, then at the end you run harder.”
But Williamson is really only now getting his feet into the blocks.
Williamson, who didn`t decide to run until the middle of December, conceives his campaign in three distinct phases.
During the first phase, leading up to the primary, he will meet with Republican insiders, refining his positions on the issues and raising money.
It will be months before he will have to spend the money to hire a campaign manager, and he will still have time to devote to his legal clients at Mayer, Brown & Platt. Williamson said he will take a leave of absence from the law firm in the summer.
From the primary through Labor Day, Williamson will try to spread his message beyond the party regulars.
From Labor Day until the general election in November, he will immerse himself in the campaign. His television and radio spots will finally begin running in the fall.
”I don`t think it would help to get a lot of attention right now,” he said. ”I don`t think it sinks in until next fall. Normal people aren`t following politics in January.”
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