GLBT voters hoped to make historic strides in this year’s primary election., and so did some of the candidates. Jacob Meister, an openly gay United State Senate candidate and Dan Hynes, a Democrat running for Governor whose platform included marriage equality, were hoping to be the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for some GLBT voters. But just two days prior to election day, after polls showed him pulling in only single digit support, Jacob Meister dropped out of the race and endorsed Giannoulias instead. Mesiter said he decided to endorse Giannoulias because he supports many of his job ideas and is more closely aligned on the marriage equality issue.
Voters still saw Meister’s name on the ballot, and he received one percent of the vote. Meanwhile, Meister’s staffers and 100 supporters gathered Tuesday night at Spin Night Club, the site of his planned election night party, to celebrate his run for office.
State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, who won the Democratic nod for the Senate seat, has a positive stance on many GLBT issues, including repealing the Defense of Marriage Act and the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy which bans gays and lesbians from openly serving in the military.
Early Tuesday evening, the mood at the Giannoulias campaign headquarters was subdued but upbeat. “We feel comfortable,” said Kati Phillips, a Giannoulias staffer. Most of the evening, Giannoulias’ lead in the race hovered around 5 percent over opponent David Hoffman, who also favored marriage equality.
Matthew Roe, who attended the Hoffman election party, says there was a little bit of disbelief about the loss. “We were a dedicated group supporting David and we know there are good things to come for him and it was good that the race was so close,” Roe said.
The internet and social media were a major part of President Obama’s victory in 2008 and the affects of that resonated on this race. Kristiana Zerom, a 21-year-old Chicagoan, felt moved by Giannoulias’ use of social media. She followed him on Twitter and she said she felt much closer to the campaign that way. “I met him once after following his Tweets,” Zerom said. “Without social media outlets, I would not have known who to vote for.”
Congressman Mark Kirk overwhelmingly won the Republican contest for U.S. Senate. None of the Republican senate candidates supported marriage equality. Kirk is on the record for supporting the ban on employment discrimination based on a person’s sexual identity or gender identity. Illinois’ Senate race is being watched closely after the surprise GOP victory in the Massachusetts senate race, which was formerly held by the late Sen. Edward Kennedy.
In the governor’s race, Tuesday night Dan Hynes was optimistically waiting for all the ballots to be counted. Supporters in the audience included former Comptroller Dawn Clark Netsch, a member of the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame. “As a friend of the community, he is the best one to turn the state around,” Netsch said.
Returns trickled in with current Gov. Pat Quinn’s lead eroding for a while during the evening. The tightening of the gap kept the Hynes supporters hopeful for a victory.
At 11:50 p.m., Hynes’ anxious supporters got their wish. The crowd, which had dissipated throughout the night, was ready to hear what their candidate had to say. Hynes spoke not of defeat but wait and see. “This is a very, very close race,” he said. “Democracy is alive and well, some have voted for Pat and some have voted for me. …We need to count all the votes.”
Meanwhile at 12:15 a.m., Quinn supporters were claiming victory. “We are a family in Illinois. No one is left out. The people have won.” Quinn said.
Openly gay Ald. Tom Tunney, a Quinn supporter, was celebrating at Quinn headquarters. “Pat has been a consistent ally for the 25 years that I have known him and he is a strong leader on our issues,” Tunney said.
The Republican governor’s race had State Senator Bill Brady of Bloomington and State Senator Kirk Dillard of Hinsdale battling it out. As of 11 a.m. Wednesday, there were roughly 700 votes separating the two with 99 percent of the vote counted.
Meanwhile, at press time, some 7,000 votes separated Hynes and Quinn, but thousands of votes had still not been counted.
Political experts say the possibility of a recount—for both the Democratic and Republican gubernatorial candidates—is very real. In the fierce battle to lead the state, no one is ready to throw in the towel just yet. “Whatever the outcome, it’s important to get this right,” Hynes said at a Wednesday press conference.
