Republican businessman Bruce Rauner defeated incumbent Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn’s bid for a third term, handing Democrats an embarrassing blow in President Obama’s home state.
The candidates had been running neck-and-neck for months. But with Illinois’ economy slumping and the state government on shaky financial footing, Rauner was able to portray himself as the kind of outside reformer needed to improve the state’s fortunes.
With more than 91 percent of the votes counted, Rauner led Quinn 51 percent to 46 percent out of more than 3 million votes cast. Libertarian Chad Grimm picked up almost 3.5 percent of the vote.
Rauner, a multimillionaire venture capitalist from suburban Chicago, used at least $25 million of his personal fortune in his campaign, which promised to “shake up” politics in the state capital of Springfield.
Quinn inherited a host of problems following the ouster of his now-imprisoned Democratic predecessor, Rod Blagojevich.
The candidates collectively spent about $100 million, with much of the money flooding TV and radio with a record number of campaign ads.
