With everything going on in people’s lives, not to mention higher-profile races on the ballot, how can a candidate for an obscure downballot position get the attention of John and Jane Voter?
“It’s a good question, especially in a year like this,” responded the Republican candidate for treasurer, State Rep. Demmer (R-Dixon), at a Springfield news conference Thursday. “We have redistricting, the entire General Assembly is up for re-election, there are a lot of new names and faces on the ballot. We have been very disciplined in trying to talk about the issues that people care about today. That’s the economy, it’s taxes, it’s spending. They are seeing how government policies have an impact on the price of groceries.”
The news conference was to announce the Illinois Chamber of Commerce’s endorsement of Demmer, who is running against Democrat incumbent Mike Frerichs.
“We’ve worked both with the state treasurer and with Rep. Demmer for years,” said the chamber’s senior vice president, Clark Kaericher. “We have done good things with both. Mike Frerichs isn’t a bad man; I just don’t think he is as capable as Tom Demmer.”
The chamber is also endorsing Democrat incumbent Susana Mendoza for comptroller, Republican State Rep. Dan Brady (R-Bloomington) for secretary of state, and nobody for governor or attorney general.