PLAINVIEW – For a state senator that chose to run an independent bid for governor that polls show as still in single digits, Sam McCann is grabbing lots of attention among Illinois conservatives – and not for a good reason.
McCann was making headway among social conservatives with ads running on Fox News cable channels and appearances on radio and tv. He had endorsements from conservative groups such as Illinois Family Action, Lake County Right to Life PAC and Illinois Federation for Right to Life PAC.
That was until this week, when mailers from McCann's campaign attacking Republican conservative candidates for not condemning Governor Rauner began hitting districts where those conservatives are already in very tight races.
Conservative-leaning lawmakers such as State Reps Tom Morrison, Lindsay Parkhurst, Jerry Long and GOP candidate seeking to return to the Illinois House Dwight Kay were stunned when McCann's mailers dubbed them RINOs (Republican in Name Only) and condemned them for not condemning Governor Rauner signing laws conservatives reject. While we haven't yet confirmed, we've heard McCann targeted at least two other conservative candidates in addition.
As of Friday, all of those groups mentioned above have withdrawn their endorsements of McCann's campaign, as have well-known conservatives such as Dr. Eric Wallace and Will County's George Pearson – support McCann would need if he really intended to win.
"Not only that, if he became governor, he would need the help of the very people he alienated with those campaign mailers," one former McCann supporter told Illinois Review Friday.
Last polling showed McCann still in single digits, with little hope of actually winning the 4-way race. So where is he getting all the money and why would those check writers invest in a hopeless cause?
As of today, Illinois Sunshine shows McCann has $1,577,569.37 on hand – an impressive amount any other year that the top two poll competitors wouldn't be spending $200,000,000 plus of their own funds on their campaigns.
Which raises even more questions – who benefits the most from McCann pulling votes away from one of the other top two vote getters? Obviously, it would be Democrat J.B. Pritzker – who also was endorsed by the same Local 150 of Operating Engineers that is writing checks and donating "in-kind" to the McCann campaign.
Who are these groups? And who is the leadership?
Illinois Sunshine shows the Super Pac Fight Back, the Chicagoland Operators and Local 150 International Union of Operating Engineers have one main person in common – Local 150's Chairman James W. Sweeney.
The IUOE Local 150 provided $78,000 in kind to McCann's campaign just about the time the campaign was gathering petitions – something McCann lauded as evidence of the huge amount of grassroots support he had to challenge Governor Rauner.
McCann's number and quality of petitions was not questioned by either Rauner or Pritzker – and he proceeded easily to the ballot, representing the state's previously non-existent "Conservative Party."
Within days of sending hundreds of thousands to McCann for Senate, the Engineers Political Education Committee, another McCann source based in Washington DC, gave millions to Friends of Mike Madigan, and other Democrat candidates:
McCann says he isn't about to back off his attacks on conservative lawmakers while clinging to his blue "NRA" cap to appeal to 2nd Amendment voters.
Whatever happens on November 6th, Illinois conservatives will be in a place where they will be forced to work together if they ever intend to become a force for conservative values in Illinois – perhaps a real "Conservative Party"?
