MURPHYSBORO - While disenchanted Republicans are expressing their frustration with party establishment at the presidential candidate level by gravitating to party outsiders such as Donald Trump, Dr. Ben Carson and to some extent, Carly Fiorina, downstate Illinois GOP voters could be denied primary choices in the 58th Senate District race.
In downstate Murphysboro, local businessman Mike Kripps told Illinois Review he received a call from retiring State Senator David Luechtefeld, promoting the ILGOP Establishment's pick Paul Schimpf to succeed him in the 58th Senate seat.
Both Schimpf - a retired JAG officer that ran for Illinois attorney general in 2014 - and Murphysboro constitutional law attorney Sharee Langenstein are circulating nominating petitions.
"I respect Senator Luechtefeld, and he's done a lot for our area over the years," Kripps said. "It was clear that he did not want Sharee Langenstein and that Paul Schimpf was the party's 'chosen one.' I don't know Paul Schimpf, but my opinion is that voters should have a choice in the primary."
Some in the area say the downstate 58th Senate District voted 59% for Mitt Romney in 2012, suggesting that the real battle for the district's next senator may be in the March 15, 2016 GOP primary, and not in November.
That's not the case anymore, though, Senator Luechtefeld told Illinois Review Friday.
"The 58th District was remapped, and it's not going to be so easy to win in 2016," Luechtefeld said. "And the Democrats are running Sheila Simon - the former lieutenant governor who is well-known and will be well-financed."
That's why Luechtefeld says he got involved in the primary race. "I told all five candidates that were interested that it was their right to run, but I couldn't live with myself if I let the race go and the Republican nominee ended up being someone that couldn't win in the General [Election]."
"I'm very impressed with Paul Schimpf and believe he could beat Sheila Simon," Luechtefeld said. "It's not easy to get good people to run - most good people already have good-paying jobs and don't want to take a chance in an election."
"Paul Schimpf, in my opinion, has the best shot at winning. He's the kind of person we need in the Senate - honest, hard-working and well-qualified," the senator said.
But at least one other candidate has emerged as being interested in the job.
This past summer, after Luechtefeld announced his decision to retire, Sharee Langenstein announced her intention to run for his seat. Langenstein is a fiscal and social conservative that has lobbied at the State Capitol for groups such as Eagle Forum, Family PAC and the Illinois State Rifle Association.
Langenstein says that her friend Mike Kripps hasn't been the only person in the district that's heard from Senator Luechtefeld about her bid for office. A fundraiser scheduled for Thursday night was cancelled when her host got a call discouraging him from backing Langenstein over Schimpf, she said.
"It's not about who is more qualified to be senator," Langenstein told Illinois Review, "It's about who has promised to support the powers-that-be in the Senate Republican caucus. This will be a tough uphill climb with pressure from the Establishment on those who have expressed support for me. I appreciate all those who've stuck with me."
And not only Senator Luechtefeld who has been making calls, she said. Her campaign manager recently got a call from former gubernatorial candidate Senator Bill Brady, asking her campaign manager what it would take to get Langenstein out of the race.
Due to the pressure of area Republican power houses, county chairman that were once open to helping Langenstein are encouraging their precinct committeemen to circulate Schimpf petitions and donate to the Schimpf campaign.
All that doesn't impress Mike Kripps.
"I'm sticking with Sharee in this race. I'm a big believer in giving voters a choice. It's the same as in the national races," he said. "Voters are sick of career politicians and are now supporting those that are not part of the party establishment. It's the same here."
More to come on this story ...
