The lessons of Illinois' dispiriting primaries

The status quo prevailed. But only for now.

J.B. Pritzker and Juliana Stratton
(Image credit: Getty Images / Joshua Lott / Stringer)

Tuesday's fiercely fought Democratic and Republican primaries in Illinois proved to be tough for underdogs and great for the status quo.

The state's embattled Republican governor, Bruce Rauner, narrowly avoided the embarrassment of losing to an unhinged Trumpist challenger named Jeanne Ives, mostly by pouring millions of his own dollars into the race. On the Democratic side, a billionaire named J.B. Pritzker basically bought his party's nomination with the backing of the state's party elite. And the infamous Chicago political machine delivered a nail-biter win to conservative Democratic Rep. Dan Lipinski, who white-knuckled a spirited challenge from progressive Marie Newman.

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David Faris

David Faris is an associate professor of political science at Roosevelt University and the author of It's Time to Fight Dirty: How Democrats Can Build a Lasting Majority in American Politics. He is a frequent contributor to Informed Comment, and his work has appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times, The Christian Science Monitor, and Indy Week.