CHICAGO — The long-percolating issue of Illinois’ minimum wage rate could take center stage throughout the 2014 election campaign as Gov. Pat Quinn pushes to raise it by year’s end while his Republican challengers fine-tune arguments that it could backfire on workers who want to keep their jobs.

Quinn wants Illinois to hike its minimum wage from $8.25 per hour to at least $10, an effort that coincides with a national Democratic strategy to make the economy and income differences a prominent theme in this year’s elections.