Democrats Already Eyeing Potential Candidates For Governor In 2018
CHICAGO (CBS) -- While the focus at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia is on nominating Hillary Clinton as the party's nominee for president, various Illinois elected officials were dancing around the question of who ought to run for governor in two years.
Illinois delegates playfully solicited potential candidates to try to oust Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner in 2018.
Cook County Recorder of Deeds Karen Yarbrough, who is the vice chair of the Democratic Party of Illinois, was only half joking at the delegation's breakfast on Tuesday as she searched for volunteers.
"We need a Democratic governor, and I am not going to get off of that," she said.
The most common response to reporters from people like U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin and Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan was it's too early to talk about the 2018 race for governor.
However, state Sen. Kwame Raoul (D-Chicago) said he's game.
"There are problems in our state, and if you look at yourself as a problem solver, you seek out to confront those problems, and I think I've done so during my tenure in the legislature, and I'll continue to do so, because we have no shortage of problems," he said.
Chris Kennedy, the son of U.S. Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, spoke to Illinois delegates on Tuesday, and accused Rauner of misleading voters who elected him to overhaul state government.
"This governor's so called turnaround agenda is another form of misdirection," he said.
He also accuse the governor of turning the state's budget problem into an economic crisis, but he later refused to answer reporters' questions about whether he's planning to run for governor.
House Speaker Michael Madigan said he has met with Kennedy about the governor's race, and said Kennedy would make "a very good candidate." Madigan also has said Durbin would be a "uniquely qualified candidate."
Durbin said it's too early to talk about such things, but he didn't directly say no to the idea.
Lisa Madigan's name also has come up as a potential candidate for governor. Her name also came up in 2010 and 2014, but she decided not to run both times. She said it's too early to talk about 2018.
"The Democratic bench is deep. We have people at the national level, we have people at the state level who are incredible public servants, and who are dedicated. So we are going to have a great opportunity to put up a terrific nominee," she said.
She didn't rule out a bid for the governor's mansion.
"Is anybody in that room ruling out anything?" she said.
Ald. Edward Burke (14th) mentioned Obama senior adviser Valerie Jarrett as a potential candidate, but she wasn't at the convention Tuesday morning to discuss the possibility.