IL-GOV

Hynes Concedes IL-GOV Dem Primary To Quinn

Eric Kleefeld | February 4, 2010, 11:44AM

IL Comptroller Dan Hynes (D) and IL Gov. Pat Quinn (D)

Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes, who was in a photo-finish Democratic gubernatorial primary against incumbent Gov. Pat Quinn, has now conceded the race to Quinn, officially clearing the way for Quinn to fight the general election against the Republican nominee -- a matter that is itself yet to be determined since both parties' primaries yielded close results.

The winner was not immediately clear on election night. Quinn declared victory with a lead of about 7,000 votes, though Hynes did not yet concede. The most up to date results have Quinn winning by 8,090 votes, out of a total of 912,662 votes.

At a Hynes press event (streamed on the ABC affiliate in Chicago), Hynes spokesman Matt McGrath announced that Hynes had called Quinn about a half an hour earlier. Hynes then took to the podium. "Well, the people have spoken, and the votes have been counted. And I'm here to report that we rose up, but fell just a little short," said Hynes. "And if democracy means anything, it means that the campaign with the most votes wins. We did the right thing, we made sure all the votes were counted, and now we know for sure that it wasn't us. And now let's do the right thing again."

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