If U.S. Sen. Peter Fitzgerald (R-Ill.) were to run for governor two years from now, the early line is that he would encounter a tough fight.
Fitzgerald gave a hint of his political future Friday by failing to rule out the 2002 gubernatorial race when questioned during taping of WBBM-AM’s Saturday “At Issue” program.
“I think I’m doing a good job for the people of Illinois and I enjoy it a great deal and want to remain in the United States Senate,” Fitzgerald said, adding, “I very much hope that circumstances are such that I do not ever feel compelled to [run for governor].”
The statements, coming at the end of a week in which Fitzgerald launched a series of broadsides against the state’s Republican hierarchy, seemed to deepen a growing rift between Fitzgerald and Gov. George Ryan. On Wednesday, Fitzgerald halted Senate business with an hours-long speech challenging Ryan over the bidding process for a $115 million Abraham Lincoln library and museum in Springfield.
If Ryan seeks re-election, he will have the power of incumbency to his advantage. Although Ryan has scored low recently in popularity polls because his former underlings as secretary of state have been tied to a bribes-for-licenses scandal, that could change in the two years left in his term.
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Ryan also is a tested campaigner, and a primary would give him a chance to air his record.
“I would hope that if the governor did decide to run again, then the senator would not challenge his fellow Republican that has accomplished so much,” said Dennis Culloton, Ryan’s spokesman.
If Ryan runs, “he certainly earned that right with everything he has achieved in terms of investing in education, making our neighborhoods safer, promoting technology, trade and reforming our criminal justice system,” Culloton said Saturday.
The governor is not likely to decide whether to seek a second term until after he works through another spring legislative session.
Ideologically, there is a vast divide between Ryan and Fitzgerald. Though Fitzgerald has made careful votes during his freshman term in the Senate, he is still a darling of the conservative elements of the Republican Party.
Ryan, meanwhile, has been working largely independently of the right wing of his party since becoming governor. He has drawn fire from conservatives on many counts, including his support of a riverboat casino bill, higher license plate fees to pump up his $12 billion Illinois FIRST program and gay-rights legislation.
He also has traveled to Fidel Castro’s Cuba, pushed for tougher gun control laws and imposed a moratorium on executions, saying the death-penalty process is heavily flawed.
Ryan is more of a moderate in a state whose governor’s mansion has been dominated by moderates for a quarter-century. Former Govs. Jim Thompson and Jim Edgar both overcame conservative uprisings.
Steve Brown, a spokesman for House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago), said Saturday that the speaker has concerns that Fitzgerald would be a bad choice for the working men and women of Illinois.
But Democrats also know they cannot discount Fitzgerald, whose family wealth is tied to a banking fortune. And he showed in the race for U.S. Senate that he is willing to spend millions of dollars of his own money to win.
“You can’t underestimate a guy who has $50 million or $60 million to spend on a campaign,” Brown said.
If Fitzgerald is viewed seriously as a gubernatorial hopeful, Democrats might be more likely to look to an established party regular such as U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) to take on his fellow senator in a race for the state’s top job.
Durbin defeated former state Rep. Al Salvi, another favorite of Illinois conservatives who spent millions of his own money, when they ran in 1996. Durbin has said he would not rule out running for governor.