Published Feb. 2, 2012

Hinsdale Republicans weigh
in on primary
GOPs share insights on the potential nominees and how to achieve victory in November

By Pamela Lannom and Ken Knutson
plannom@thehinsdalean.com 
kknutson@thehinsdalean.com

   The race for the Republican presidential nomination has had its share of twists and turns since the Iowa caucuses last month.

Pundits were busy earlier this week predicting the outcome of Tuesday’s primary in Florida. Before those results were final, we talked to some notable Republicans who live here in town about how the GOP field is shaping up and what the eventual nominee will need to do to win the general election in November.

Judy Biggert
U.S. representative
3rd District

   Judy Biggert said she can’t remember a primary election season with this many debates.
   “People seem to be very engaged in them when we talk about who is listening and you see the size of the crowds that have been at these debates,” she said Monday. “I think this is really good for the party.”
   Biggert, who has officially endorsed Mitt Romney, said she has been interested to hear from all the candidates. She predicted Romney would win Florida, adding that she’s not sure how long Newt Gingrich and the others will stay in the race.
   “I would hope we would have nominee by Super Tuesday when that comes up,” she said.
   The eventual nominee will need to focus on job creation and the economy in order to unseat President Barack Obama, she said.
   “We are at a crossroads right now. I think there will be a distinct difference between what President Obama is going to say and what the Republican candidate (will say). I think it’s a crossroad whether we get the way of big government and the European type of government, or down the road where we have fiscal responsibility and less government and lower taxes.
   “I think that’s a big difference — and how we can get the economy back on track and have economic growth,” she added.
   Biggert viewed the president’s state of the union address last week as mainly a campaign speech. Despite his great delivery, she said she didn’t think he was on his game.
   “It sounded like he was starting over,” she said. “He really didn’t mention the last three years, maybe because not that much has happened.”
   She has been surprised at how vitriolic the campaign has been but knows Republicans will come together to support the eventual nominee. She also knows first-hand that negativity is part of a campaign.
   “I always say if I believed half of what was said about me, I wouldn’t have voted for me, either,” she said with a laugh.

Kirk Dillard
Illinois senator
24th District

   Kirk Dillard said the tumultuous nature of this primary season has made it tough to find firm footing behind one candidate.
   “Normally by now I would have aligned myself with a candidate,” he said. “But this is an atypical year, and the Republican campaign for president has been incredibly contentious and a roller coaster ride.”
   There’s strong unity, however, when it comes the GOP’s ultimate goal, he said.
   “The galvanizing of Republicans against President Obama is unprecedented in my lifetime,” he said.
   He surmised that the White House is enjoying the bruising campaign, but he believes the divisions will ultimately heal.
   “I would hope that when (the primary season) is over and the dust has settled, the Republican party is galvanized around its choice and gets back to the focus of defeating President Obama,” he said.
   Although Dillard has not thrown his support behind a candidate, he seems most confident of Romney’s chances for success.
   “I’ve always believed for the last year that it’s Gov. Romney’s to lose. I believe Mitt Romney can beat Obama,” Dillard said.
   He acknowledges, though, that he is drawn to Gingrich’s brand of conservatism.
   “I love Newt Gingrich’s ideas. His speeches and policies are phenomenal. But I am surprised that he has been able to do as well in some of the primaries,” he said.
   Despite a fragmented GOP membership in Illinois, Dillard said Romney enjoys the strongest grass-roots coalition in the state.
   He thinks the similarities between the two leading candidates far outweigh their differences, despite the confrontational debates and negative ads.
   “When you pull away, on paper, they’re quite similar, but the rhetoric makes it seem like they’re further apart than they are,” he said.
   For Dillard, the proof for him will be the candidates’ performance in the Midwestern rust belt states, such as Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
   “Show me how you do in real states,” he said.

Patti Bellock
Illinois representative
47th District

   This primary is like no other in Patti Bellock’s view.
   “I think this is the most unusual primary season that I’ve ever seen in my entire life since I started voting,” she said.
   And she expects the twists and turns to continue.
   “I don’t think this is the end of the primary season here,” she said Monday, before Floridians headed to the polls Tuesday. “I think there will be some other surprises along the way and I think we’ll all be in for a long ride.”
   A supporter of Romney, Bellock left at 4:30 a.m. Jan. 3 to get a first-hand look at the Iowa caucuses.
   “I just jumped in my car. I thought, ‘I’m going to go over there and see what an Iowa caucus is really like,’ ” she said. “It is like nothing I have ever seen.”
   She was at a caucus meeting with 1,000 attendees but heard about one in a woman’s living room attended by only 35. She was amazed at the trustworthiness and respect of the participants, many of whom recorded their votes on tiny pieces of paper collected in Tupperware.
   She thinks voters have become more educated watching the debates and believes the nominee will need to demonstrate how he will improve the economy and get Americans back to work.
   “People are extremely frustrated by what’s going on in Congress and they want to see people with solutions,” she said. “They don’t want to hear bickering between parties or bickering in their own party. The majority of people don’t align themselves with party, they align themselves with finding solutions to problems.”
   She has been surprised at the impact the debates have had on voters.
   “I don’t want to pick a president just on his debating skills, but at the same time, if that’s the only thing that’s going to get you elected, you’re going to really have to be strong at those,” she said.
   She thinks Romney has improved his performance at the debates and believes he has the background to get the job done.
   “I like governors or heads of business who actually have to meet the bottom line and know what it is to meet the bottom line,” she said.

Adam Andrzejewski
Illinois gubernatorial candidate
February 2010 primary

   Adam Andrzejewski, Hinsdale resident and former Republican candidate for governor of Illinois, said he is enjoying the battle among the candidates for the presidential nominee.
   “I’m relishing being in the position of the voter, where the candidates have to persuade me,” he said. “I’ll probably make up my mind the morning of Illinois primary on March 20.”
   For Andrzejewski, the candidate’s viability come November is key.
   “I still want to be convinced that our future standard bearer can oust President Barack Obama from the White House,” he said.
  A year ago, Andrzejewski was helping support the candidacy of former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty. Pawlenty dropped out in August after a disappointing result in the Iowa straw poll.
   “He would have been an outstanding nominee,” he said.
   Andrzejewski said he is not surprised to see Romney vying for the nomination, but he would not have predicted Gingrich’s surge in recent months.
   He thinks Gingrich has benefited from a faction within the party not enthralled with Romney, who is seen as more moderate.
   “The American people are looking for bold, independent leadership. Candidates are rewarded when they deliver,” he said. “Conservatives are looking for the anti-Romney.”
   Andrzejewski said his preferred focus is Springfield, not Washington, and he will not take an active role in the presidential campaign.
   He thinks the acrimonious and unpredictable nature of this primary season is beneficial and predicts the party will be united in the end.
   “I’ve always been in favor of wide, dynamic primaries,” he said. “It sharpens the message and it grows the foundation of the party.”

Pat Hughes
U.S. Senate candidate
February 2010 primary

   The Republican primary season has been spirited, former U.S. Senate candidate Pat Hughes said, which is exactly how it should be.
   “I think it’s important that all the factions of the party get an opportunity to express how they view things,” he said. “I think this is healthy for the Republican party, even though some in the media would like to portray it as an advantage to Obama, which I don’t think it is.”
   He predicted Monday that Romney would win Florida and said he was surprised to see Gingrich win South Carolina “handily.”
   “Gingrich showed that he is very capable at campaigning. He’s very smart. I’ve actually done a public appearance with him. He’s a very smart guy who understands politics and understands how to win an election.”
   If the Florida race is close or Gingrich manages to win or Rick Santorum pulls out and his support goes to Gingrich, things could get interesting, Hughes said. But he’s not sure that change in allegiance is guaranteed.
   “Often times how we think about politics is there are conservatives and there are folks who are more moderate and every Santorum supporter would view Gingrich as the alternative if Santorum dropped out,” he said. “In my view, that’s just not true.”
   He believes Gingrich has been “over the top in a lot of respects” and thinks Romney should have released his tax returns before he was pressured to do so.
   “I think he lost some credibility there. I thought that was a mistake,” he said.
   He think the Republican nominee can ask a similar question to the one Ronald Reagan asked in 1980 — are people better off than they were four years ago?
   Hughes believes the answer is no and is anxious to get through the primary and work toward making sure Obama serves a single term.
   “Both Romney and Gingrich and Santorum — although I don’t think Santorum is viable in any way — would be 1,000 times better than Obama as president,” he said.