The race for Lt. Governor

Harry Kibler

The following is a list of all the Republican candidates for Lt. Governor and what their records show.

Matt Murphy: He is an establishment politician running with Andy McKenna. McKenna is seen by many as a corrupt Chicago machine RINO responsible for the party's perpetual state of irrelevance. 

That aside, Murphy does have a largely conservative voting record and has taken bold, defiant action against liberal tax-and-spend insanity, as when he proposed that Palatine secede from Cook County over its crushing tax hikes.

His only RINO vote appears to be for the Large Capacity Firearm Magazine ban.

Randy White: This former pastor is extremely pro-family and "God-centered." Virtually all of his endorsements are from Christian groups or individuals, such as Kathy Valente, Director of Operations at the Illinois Family Institute. He supports tight campaign finance restrictions.

It is also worth noting that he is the only candidate to have the Putback Amendment prominently displayed on his campaign site.

Don Tracy: He has made Workers' Compensation reform the centerpiece of his campaign, identifying it as the primary problem we have in this state with creating jobs. He opposes more campaign finance restrictions, citing free speech and loopholes. He argues instead for aggressive transparency reforms.

Jason Plummer: He is enormously popular among Reagan conservatives and the grassroots. He has pledged not to take a paycheck from the taxpayers until he delivers on job creation and economic growth. He is endorsed by the Illinois Federation for Right to Life, the Illinois State Rifle Association and many, many others.

Like Don Tracy, Plummer also prefers aggressive transparency reforms to new campaign finance restrictions.

Brad Cole: He is a downstate mayor from Carbondale and the only candidate who opposes the proposed constitutional amendment that would allow governors to be recalled by citizen initiatives. He also supports tightening campaign finance restrictions.  

Dennis Cook: He is a South Suburban candidate with an impressive list of conservative endorsements similar to Jason Plummer. There is not much available on him. His campaign seems to revolve entirely around low taxes.