lucky wilbury
07-11-2004, 01:16 AM
http://www.hillnews.com/news/070804/ditka.aspx
Mike Ditka emerges as possible Senate candidate
By Patrick O'Connor
In the wake of Steve Rauschenberger’s withdrawal from the Illinois Senate race, former Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka has surfaced as a favorite of many Hill and state Republicans, according to interviews with GOP members and staff in Illinois and Washington.
The Super Bowl-winning coach and Hall-of-Fame player is a Chicago icon whose name identification and stature would make him a well-known, if inexperienced, candidate in the race to replace Sen. Peter Fitzgerald (R), who is stepping down at the end of this legislative session.
Ditka has not made a public statement about his candidacy, but Republicans on the Hill and in Illinois said they would be eager for him to enter the race.
“If Ditka ran, Democrats would claim to vote for Obama and then secretly vote for Ditka,” said Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) “It would immediately put Chicago in play.”
Kirk said Ditka could campaign with his former players in minority areas, like Chicago’s South Side, that other Republican candidates could not previously touch.
A senior leadership aide said House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) would like Ditka to run, but said the speaker would not make a statement of public support.
Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) said thought this was just a “last-minute ploy” by a “desperate” state party following the announcement today that Rauschenberger was withdrawing his name from consideration, hours after Hastert reportedly said he was “the best person” to replace Jack Ryan as the Republican nominee.
“They had all their money invested in the looks, the smile and the money,” Emanuel added. “Now they’ve got nothing to show for themselves.”
Ditka’s name has been swirling in the rumor mill for a week and a half, ever since Ryan announced he would drop out of the race, but the furor picked up considerably today. Talk radio shows in Chicago have been abuzz with the story most of this afternoon.
Ditka currently owns a restaurant in Chicago, gives motivational speeches
and works as a part-time analyst at CBS Sports. He charges between $25,000 and
$30,000 for each motivational speech.
The whole commotion began with a website, www.draftditka.com, that was created by staff members in the Illinois House to gather signatures to nominate Ditka as the chairman of the state’s Republican party after the current chairwoman, Judy Baar Topinka, steps down at the end of this election cycle. The website has generated over 3,500 signatures since 8 a.m. today and 5,000 signatures so far. Ten thousand signatures are required to submit the candidate to the state’s nominating committee.
A number of Republicans in the state house who did not want to be named said Ditka has been contacted about the possibility of running, but the executive director of the state party said that no one, to his knowledge, had approached “Iron Mike.”
“He’s certainly an intriguing candidate,” said John Hoffman, executive director of the Illinois Republican Party. “He’s got name I.D., but it’s not my job to characterize him as a candidate.”
Calls into Ditka’s restaurant were directed to his charity, which had not responded at press time.
Ultimately, the decision resides with the state’s 19-member nominating committee, which is currently deciding who to run against Obama, a strong Democratic candidate who had a 22-point lead over Ryan before he dropped out of the race. A decision could be made as early as next week.
Hoffman said Ditka was an active Republican in the state and has headlined at least two Republican fundraisers, one for a candidate for attorney general and the other was annual state party dinner. On a national level, he has given $6,406 to Republican candidates since 1994, including $1,500 to President Bush, $1,000 to Sen. John McCain and $1,000 to former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.
Mike Ditka emerges as possible Senate candidate
By Patrick O'Connor
In the wake of Steve Rauschenberger’s withdrawal from the Illinois Senate race, former Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka has surfaced as a favorite of many Hill and state Republicans, according to interviews with GOP members and staff in Illinois and Washington.
The Super Bowl-winning coach and Hall-of-Fame player is a Chicago icon whose name identification and stature would make him a well-known, if inexperienced, candidate in the race to replace Sen. Peter Fitzgerald (R), who is stepping down at the end of this legislative session.
Ditka has not made a public statement about his candidacy, but Republicans on the Hill and in Illinois said they would be eager for him to enter the race.
“If Ditka ran, Democrats would claim to vote for Obama and then secretly vote for Ditka,” said Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) “It would immediately put Chicago in play.”
Kirk said Ditka could campaign with his former players in minority areas, like Chicago’s South Side, that other Republican candidates could not previously touch.
A senior leadership aide said House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) would like Ditka to run, but said the speaker would not make a statement of public support.
Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) said thought this was just a “last-minute ploy” by a “desperate” state party following the announcement today that Rauschenberger was withdrawing his name from consideration, hours after Hastert reportedly said he was “the best person” to replace Jack Ryan as the Republican nominee.
“They had all their money invested in the looks, the smile and the money,” Emanuel added. “Now they’ve got nothing to show for themselves.”
Ditka’s name has been swirling in the rumor mill for a week and a half, ever since Ryan announced he would drop out of the race, but the furor picked up considerably today. Talk radio shows in Chicago have been abuzz with the story most of this afternoon.
Ditka currently owns a restaurant in Chicago, gives motivational speeches
and works as a part-time analyst at CBS Sports. He charges between $25,000 and
$30,000 for each motivational speech.
The whole commotion began with a website, www.draftditka.com, that was created by staff members in the Illinois House to gather signatures to nominate Ditka as the chairman of the state’s Republican party after the current chairwoman, Judy Baar Topinka, steps down at the end of this election cycle. The website has generated over 3,500 signatures since 8 a.m. today and 5,000 signatures so far. Ten thousand signatures are required to submit the candidate to the state’s nominating committee.
A number of Republicans in the state house who did not want to be named said Ditka has been contacted about the possibility of running, but the executive director of the state party said that no one, to his knowledge, had approached “Iron Mike.”
“He’s certainly an intriguing candidate,” said John Hoffman, executive director of the Illinois Republican Party. “He’s got name I.D., but it’s not my job to characterize him as a candidate.”
Calls into Ditka’s restaurant were directed to his charity, which had not responded at press time.
Ultimately, the decision resides with the state’s 19-member nominating committee, which is currently deciding who to run against Obama, a strong Democratic candidate who had a 22-point lead over Ryan before he dropped out of the race. A decision could be made as early as next week.
Hoffman said Ditka was an active Republican in the state and has headlined at least two Republican fundraisers, one for a candidate for attorney general and the other was annual state party dinner. On a national level, he has given $6,406 to Republican candidates since 1994, including $1,500 to President Bush, $1,000 to Sen. John McCain and $1,000 to former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani.