In Illinois, the 'billionaire' vs. the 'bottom of the barrel'

RACE AT A GLANCE

The tight race for Illinois governor between Democratic incumbent Pat Quinn and Republican businessman Bruce Rauner has been extraordinarily nasty even by Land of Lincoln standards, where bare-knuckle politics is the norm. This theme continued in a Tuesday night debate between the two candidates.

Quinn has taken a page out of President Obama’s 2012 playbook in his race against Mitt Romney trying to paint Rauner -- a venture capitalist who earned more than $60 million in 2013 -- as an out-of-touch rich guy. The governor has consistently hammered Rauner for his opposition to raising the minimum wage and for stating he would have vetoed an expansion of Medicaid for low-income people under Obamacare.

Rauner has fought back just as hard, accusing Quinn of incompetence in leading the state, which has an unemployment rate of 6.7%. He’s also argued the Democratic governor has continued the legacy of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who was impeached by the Illinois General Assembly and later convicted on federal corruption charges.

Illinois is still one of the bluest states in the USA, but polling shows Rauner and Quinn are running neck-and-neck.

FIRST TAKE

Quinn is battling for his political life and has looked to President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama to help bolster his standing with base voters. Both have campaigned on his behalf in recent weeks, and the president will return to Chicago next week to stump for Quinn again.

With Tuesday’s debate, Quinn threw plenty of red meat  to those base voters whose turnout will be crucial. He was quick to hit Rauner as a “Republican billionaire” and “professional outsourcer” whose private equity firm was responsible for shipping jobs overseas.

Rauner blamed Quinn for the loss of thousands of jobs in Illinois during his time in office and pushing for higher taxes. At the same time, he trumpeted his success as a businessman as a reason for voters to give him a chance.

Both candidates got their jabs in, but this race appears destined to be a slugfest to the end.

 QUINN HIGHLIGHTS

The governor repeatedly took shots at Rauner’s time in the business world. Quinn also took aim at Rauner for only releasing a summary of his tax filings. “He doesn’t even have the honesty to tell the people of Illinois the full schedule of his income tax return. Mitt Romney, the Republican who ran for president, he released his full schedule,” Quinn said. “This candidate wants to hide from the voters the full information about his taxes. . . . His right to hide is not more important than the public’s right to know.”

RAUNER HIGHLIGHTS

Rauner made the argument that Quinn “presides over the worst-run state government in America,” while repeatedly emphasizing his success in the venture capital world.

“The worst-run state -- bottom of the barrel in job growth, bottom of the barrel in income tax hike, bottom of the barrel in school funding and rampant cronyism, corruption and patronage,” Rauner said. “Worst-run government. Best-run investment firm. It’s like night and day here.”

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