Del Mar on Cook County GOP endorsements

Del Mar on Cook County GOP endorsements

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the Cook County Republican Party! Best wishes for a Happy New Year filled with health, happiness, and spectacular success. We've got some exciting news to share with you as the holidays are just a day away. Cook County Endorsements: The Cook County Republican Party announced on Saturday their endorsements for the 2014 Primary Election. Businessman Bruce Rauner was endorsed over his three opponents for Illinois Governor. Also endorsed were Judy Baar Topinka, Paul Schimpf, and Mike Webster, unopposed Republican candidates for Illinois Comptroller, Attorney General, and Secretary of State. No endorsements were made in the races for Illinois Treasurer and U.S. Senate as Tom Cross and Doug Truax won their respective votes but did not reach the 60% threshold required for an endorsement. "For the first time in recent memory, Republicans in the largest county in Illinois have a strong, public voice in the Republican Primary process," proclaimed Chairman Aaron Del Mar. "For too long Cook County has been considered Democrat territory, yet there are more Republicans here than in any other county in Illinois. It¹s time their voice was heard loud and clear. This is why we held this endorsement process. The Republican Party in Cook County is growing stronger every day and we will ensure the election of a Republican Governor in 2014." Ballots were cast by Republican Committeemen on behalf of their wards and townships. Votes were weighted based on the number of Republicans who voted in that township or ward in the 2012 Republican Primary. Committeemen were provided paper ballots containing unique barcodes and a pre-stamped envelope for them to mail in their vote. Committeemen were also provided a unique ID so that they could vote online if they chose. The deadline for both paper and online ballots was Wednesday, December 18th. Votes were tabulated starting at 8am on December 21st. All Republican Committeemen were invited to attend the tabulation to ensure an open and fair process. Certifying the results were Committeemen Garber, Gorman, Morrison, Smith and Yokoyama. The entire process was video taped to further ensure accuracy and transparency. Official Results: Governor Bruce Rauner 63.38% Kirk Dillard 10.18% Dan Rutherford 5.94% Bill Brady 0% US Senate Doug Truax 38.76% Jim Oberweis 34.31% Armen Alvarez 0.26% William Lee 0.05% Treasurer Tom Cross 49.26% Bob Grogan 31.19% Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka 67.81% Attorney General Paul Schimpf 70.03% Secretary of State Mike Webster 67.48% Committeemen Support Program Q4 Report Card Released: The third installment of the Committeemen Support Program scorecard was released today by the Cook County Republican Party. The Scorecard covers the 4th Quarter of 2013. "We are pleased to see that many of our townships are maintaining their excellent scores while several others have improved their scores," said Cook County Republican Party Chairman Aaron Del Mar. "Many of the benchmarks used to determine grades are ongoing responsibilities, so the fact that so many townships maintained their high grades means that the Cook County Republican Party has regular activity and sustained growth as we move into campaign season." Enrolled organizations receive an initial stipend and are eligible for further funding through the program. The funding each organization receives is directly tied to their score on the Scorecard. The Party projects that over $50,000 will be provided to Cook County Republican organizations this election cycle through the Committeemen Support Program, the first of its kind. "We will continue to work to support our Committeemen and their organizations so that we will have the ground game necessary to win in November. We must elect a Republican Governor in 2014 so we can finally return our once great state to prosperity, and to do that we will need to increase our Republican vote totals in Cook County. We are well on our way to achieving this important goal," explained Chairman Del Mar. The next scorecard will be completed on March 15th and released to the public on March 17th. A copy of the scorecard is included with this release. To learn more about the Cook County Republican Party, visit www.CookRepublicanParty.com. Cook County Republican Party http://www.cookrepublicanparty.com/