If the GOP wins Governor and Senate in Illinois, Democrats have themselves to blame...

[BolivarianHero]

It will occur because of a Green candidate splitting vote, which could easily have been avoided with if the legislature had passed IRV.

[Luciferous]

1. So far the Dems are doing okay in IL

[BolivarianHero]

3. Kirk's winning now...

http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2010/results/state/#IL

By lessq than the Green vote. This would never happen in IRV. Do Illinois Democrats like losing elections or is there some imaginary reason why first-past-the-post is a good system that I'm too ignorant to be aware of?

[nickinSTL]

2. not likely that the Greens had much effect

the Greens are barely hitting 3%

While, yes, that is a bit of a vote that might, in theory, have gone to a Dem, the truth is that the Greens didn't do nearly as well as expected. They were polling closer to 7% and in 2006 in the Governors race, the same Green candidate pulled 10% of the vote.

Looks to me like only die-hard Greens voted Green today. Blaming the Greens for a loss is a big stretch, imo.

Of course, your primary point that the Dems are to blame for the loss is true.

[BolivarianHero]

4. I'm not blaming the Greens for anything...

But it seems the Democrats there are more concerns with marginalizing and blaming the Greens than they are with beating the Repukes. With all the millions they blow on strategists and consultants, you'd think they'd be smart enough to reform a system that unfairly favours the GOP.

[BadgerKid]

5. No splitting here.

I thought it a bad idea to "let" a Republican into the governorship. However, I can understand that people might vote for Green to try to send a message to both major parties for their general lack of ability to govern in the interest of the people in this state.