The contest for Illinois Democratic Party chairman is down to two candidates after state Sen. Cristina Castro dropped her bid Sunday and her supporters sided with U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly over Ald. Michelle Harris.
Elgin’s Castro had been backed by U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia. Both are members of the Democratic State Central Committee that will decide who replaces former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.
On Sunday, 23rd Ward Ald. Silvana Tabares backed Kelly. Tabares represents the 3rd Congressional District on the Democratic panel along with Madigan. The former House speaker, who has held the state party chairmanship since 1998, is backing Harris.
Castro, Garcia and Tabares said in a joint statement that the party should ensure inclusiveness of a growing Latino population and Democratic-shifting suburbs and that they strongly believe Kelly shares their commitment and values.
“Robin’s district is not only a microcosm of the state of Illinois — urban, suburban and rural — it is also a diverse district,” the three said of Kelly’s South Side and south suburban 2nd Congressional District. “Robin’s leadership bridges the gaps and creates unity among all communities.”
Despite Sunday’s shift, Harris still holds the early lead over Kelly in securing the votes needed to replace Madigan, who resigned the post last week.
With Gov. J.B. Pritzker in her corner, the veteran 8th Ward alderman so far has public support from party leaders who represent about 44% of the weighted vote, while Kelly of Matteson has nearly 19%, including the 5% Castro had collected.
The Democratic State Central Committee is made up of one man and one woman from each of Illinois’ 18 congressional districts. Members will cast votes based on how many Democratic ballots were pulled in their districts in the March 2020 primary election. It will take a majority of that weighted vote to become the new party chair.
The vote totals come as some Democrats backing Kelly stepped up their calls for an open interview of the candidates on March 6. Under law, the state party has 30 days from Madigan’s Feb. 22 resignation to meet to pick a new chairman.
Pritzker, with his personal wealth and ability to fund Democratic candidates, holds powerful sway in the selection process, though he is not on the state central committee. He has been encouraging unaligned members to back Harris.
“I’ve called members of the state central committee to let them know why I’m supporting Michelle Harris and how she’s been an activist, somebody who has really built a ground operation to get Democrats out to vote,” the first-term governor said at an unrelated news conference Friday. “She has one of the most productive wards in the city of Chicago in terms of getting votes out, someone who’s a listener and a leader. So, I’ve made that case to people on the state central committee.”
There are 36 members on the panel, and 13 have yet to publicly align with a candidate. Harris has the backing of 15 members and Kelly has eight.
Each member splits half the weighted vote from the congressional district they represent. For example, Harris is the 1st Congressional District committeewoman, and she alone wields 4.57% of the state’s weighted Democratic vote. Harris is backed by the committeeman in her district, U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush, who represents the other 4.57% of votes cast.
In addition to Madigan, Harris picked up the backing of Jayne Mazzotti from the 13th Congressional District. Former state Sen. Carol Ronen of Chicago and the 9th Congressional District also supports Kelly.
Pritzker was among leading Democrats to call for Madigan to leave the state party chairmanship after the Nov. 3 election. The governor blamed voter attitudes toward the former speaker, in part, for the loss at the polls of his signature agenda item, a graduated-rate income tax.
The governor and other Democrats privately have complained that the state party under Madigan largely became a money pass-through operation to further the former House speaker’s power and that the organization had not modernized to take advantage of social media and programming aimed at driving Democratic turnout.
“I just believe that we need great leadership for building the Democratic Party of Illinois, which really has been something that hasn’t been done for a number of years,” Pritzker said Friday.
“We have a great opportunity to do Latino outreach, to communities of color broadly. We need great leadership and we need forward momentum. And I’m very excited about the leadership that I think Michelle Harris will offer,” he said.
Harris also has the backing of state central committee members John Cullerton, the former Illinois Senate president, and U.S. Rep. Danny Davis. Several Downstate members back Harris, but they hold smaller weighted vote totals since the region has turned significantly Republican.
In addition, Harris is backed by Cook County Clerk Karen Yarbrough, the interim party chairman following Madigan’s Monday resignation.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot is staying neutral. Harris is Lightfoot’s City Council floor leader, while Kelly was an early endorser of Lightfoot’s mayoral bid.
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin supports Kelly for party chair, while counterpart Sen. Tammy Duckworth backs Harris. Neither senator is on the state central committee, however. On Friday, the state’s senior senator downplayed talk that differences over supporting candidates for party chair had created a family feud.
“The good news is, the people who have been mentioned as potential party chair, all three are excellent. All three can lead our party effectively,” Durbin said. “We may have a difference of opinion on which may be better at the moment, but I think there’s a common belief that all three are excellent.”
Kelly, who is in her fifth term representing in Congress, sits on the state central committee. Kelly’s support on the panel includes Cook County Circuit Clerk Iris Martinez and northwestern Illinois’ Kate Jennings.
Madigan was deposed last month as House speaker after 36 years, resigned the House seat he had held for 50 years on Feb. 18 and then stepped down as state party chairman a few days later. He remains a member of the state central committee and runs the 13th Ward Democratic organization.
