Republican-oriented COR Strategies founder Collin Corbett has decided to run for Governor as an Independent.
He has teamed up with Crystal Lake’s Carolyn Schofield, who will be his Lt. Governor running mate.
In order to make such a run legal, both candidates had to refrain from voting in this past spring’s Republican Primary Election.
The template for such an Independent run was laid down by Dee Beaubien. After her husband State Rep. Mark Beaubien died, a top aide, Kent Gaffney, was supported by Rep. Beaubien’s coalition.
Gaffney was defeated by David McSweeney,
Dee Beaubien apparently planned to run as an Independent, if Gaffney lost the primary.\, because she did not vote in the GOP primary.
David McSweeney defeated Gaffney.
Illinois state law says that one cannot run as an Independent, if one has voted in a party primary during the same election cycle.
The section is below:
FILING OR VOTING A PARTISAN OFFICE
A person who (i) filed a Statement of Candidacy for a partisan office as a qualified primary voter of an established political party or (ii) who voted the ballot of an established political party at a general primary election may not file a Statement of Candidacy as a candidate of a different established political party, a new political party, or as an Independent candidate for a partisan office to be filled at the general election immediately following the general primary for which the person filed the statement or voted the ballot.
A person may file a Statement of Candidacy for a partisan office as a qualified primary voter of an established political party regardless of any prior filing of candidacy for a partisan office or voting the ballot of an established political party at any prior election. (10 ILCS 5/7-43)
So, both Corbett and Schofield must have decided on their candidacies before the March primary.
The two obviously believe GOP gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey has no chance of beating incumbent JB Pritzker.
And they count on their being enough independents and disaffected Republicans to carry him to victory.
Or, they may just trying to get 5% of the vote, which would allow their party to gain ballot access as an Established Party without having to gather the 25,000 petition signatures necessary this year,
