The race for Illinois treasurer changed course quickly Tuesday as late votes counted in several suburban counties showed a surge for Democrat Mike Frerichs. Frerichs took a lead of over 3,000 votes against Republican Tom Cross after posting large leads in suburban Cook County and other collar counties.
Until Tuesday, Cross had held a small lead, about 500 votes, making it the closest statewide race in history. Frerichs' campaign spokesman, Dave Clarkin, says the mood in the Frerichs camp changed dramatically as vote counts rolled in yesterday.
"We've believed all along that Mike would run very strong in downstate Illinois and if that trend continued in downstate and the suburbs that we would lead coming out of the state by more than 1,000 votes," said Clarkin.
Now that the race is no longer poised to be the closest statewide contest in Illinois history, Clarkin says both sides of the aisle have said talk of a recount would be "frivolous."
