from the State Journal-Register

Three-way primary suits Wood

Lieutenant governor to announce run for governor Sunday

By BERNARD SCHOENBURG
POLITICAL WRITER

Just days before she formally announces she's running for governor, Lt. Gov. Corinne Wood said Tuesday a three-way GOP primary would give her a good chance of winning.

Wood said she believes moderate Republicans will vote for her, while the other candidates will split the conservative vote.

Wood will announce her run for the state's top office on Sunday, campaign sources confirmed. Wood spoke in a telephone interview Tuesday about some of the political considerations involved, but she stopped short of publicly declaring for the office.

Wood noted that two moderate U.S. Senate candidates received substantial votes in recent GOP primaries: Loleta Didrickson got 48 percent against Peter Fitzgerald in 1998, and Bob Kustra won 43 percent of the vote against conservative Al Salvi in 1996.

Both lost, but Wood said the contests show there is a "very healthy" moderate Republican vote ready to be tapped.

"In a three-way primary, clearly it makes my chances that much better," Wood said. "But even in a two-way primary, I believe that with those numbers and running a good campaign, and a well-funded campaign with the right people and the right message, that we can win."

"I do not intend to be outspent," added Wood, who has raised about $1 million and expects the winner to spend more than $10 million through the November 2002 election.

Wood, 46, of Lake Forest, will join a field that includes Attorney General Jim Ryan of Elmhurst, considered the GOP front-runner, and state Sen. Patrick O'Malley of Palos Park, the most conservative of the three candidates. Republican Gov. George Ryan is not running for re-election.

Of the three candidates, Wood is the only one who is pro-choice on abortion. She said that and other moderate stands may be welcomed by Illinois voters.

"Clearly, suburban women or independent voters are someone that we need to reach out to," Wood said.

U.S. Rep. Ray LaHood, R-Peoria, said at the Statehouse Tuesday that a primary election can help a candidate, forcing him or her to define issues and gear up a fund-raising operation.

However, LaHood, who has endorsed Jim Ryan, said such endorsements, plus Ryan's base in DuPage County, will help Ryan win.

"For example, I'm going to put the full force of my political organization in central Illinois behind Jim Ryan," LaHood said, noting that Wood "has never run a statewide campaign on her own for a job," as has Ryan.

Still, LaHood said, a three-way race gives Wood her best chance.

"The big assumption is that O'Malley stays in the race," LaHood said. "And if he does stay in the race, then she's got a shot. If he slips on a banana and gets out of the race, her campaign is over."

Illinois law has few restrictions on campaign fund raising, but Wood said she is imposing some of her own rules.

She said she will not accept tobacco-related money or contributions from riverboat casinos. She also said that her own employees will not be allowed to contribute to her campaign or solicit others for donations.

Wood also has not ruled out donating to her own effort. She reported in April that she had income of $1.12 million in 2000, including $111,165 as her state salary in addition to investment earnings from a blind trust. She reported making $2.93 million in 1999.

Wood plans to make her formal announcement Sunday in Chicago, followed by a fly-around the next day, including a stop in Springfield.

Bernard Schoenburg can be reached at 788-1540 or bernard.schoenburg@sj-r.com.
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© Copyright 2001, The State Journal-Register