Both primary races for Illinois governor too close to call

CHICAGO — The races for governor went down to the wire Tuesday night with razor-thin margins separating Gov. Pat Quinn from Comptroller Dan Hynes on the Democratic side and state Sens. Kirk Dillard and Bill Brady among Republicans.

The closeness of the contests, accentuated by a low voter turnout, meant no one declared victory on either side as trailing candidates pondered seeking an expensive and lengthy recount.

With 98 percent of the state's precincts reporting, Quinn and Hynes each had 50 percent, separated by less than 5,000 votes in a bitter contest for the Democratic governor nomination.

"Tonight we've learned one thing for sure and that is that we are going to continue fighting," Hynes said at his election night party at a downtown union hall as supporters chanted "Let's Go Dan."

"This is a close race. A very, very close race," he added. "There are thousands of ballots that haven't been counted. And whatever the outcome, it's important for Illinois to get this right."

On the Republican side, Brady had 21 percent to 20 percent for Dillard, less than 2,000 votes apart. Former state Republican chairman Andy McKenna had 19 percent, with 98 percent counted.

"The night's not over," said Dillard, of Hinsdale. "We're going to be around for a while."

Brady said his campaign is watching the outcome "very closely."

"It just shows the strength of the grassroots," said Brady from his campaign headquarters at a Bloomington hotel. "We were far outspent on Chicago TV."

McKenna thanked supporters and asked them to hang in with him for the long haul.

"This race is too close to call. It's not going to be resolved any time soon," he said. "The road is not finished. Let's see where we land tomorrow morning."

Regardless of who wins the nominations for the November election, the splits within the Democratic and Republican results reveal the potential weaknesses each party nominee will face heading into the general election campaign.

Quinn, elevated to the state's top job little more than a year ago by the ouster of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, found himself under heavy criticism for indecisive leadership as state government's deficit increased along with a $5 billion backlog of bills.