By JERRY NOWICKI
Capitol News Illinois 
jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com

Illinois Democrats were buoyed by a polling surge for Vice President Kamala Harris as they took to Springfield for their largest annual gathering on Wednesday. 

Just over three weeks ago, President Joe Biden was behind in the polls to former President Donald Trump when he decided to exit the race and endorse Harris. In the weeks since, Harris has drawn even or pulled ahead – depending on the pollster – in various swing states and in several national polls. 

The surge has given Illinois Dems visions of “madam president,” a phrase oft repeated at the Illinois State Fairgrounds and at the Bank of Springfield Center for the annual Illinois Democratic County Chairs’ Association brunch that preceded it. 

U.S. Sen Dick Durbin speaks to attendees at the Illinois Democratic County Chairs’ Association brunch at the Bank of Springfield Center on Wednesday. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Peter Hancock)

“This is an energy that you can’t buy and you can’t fake, and that’s what’s driving Donald Trump bat crazy,” Illinois’ U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin said at the morning brunch. “He doesn’t know what to do next.”

But is Harris peaking too early? 

“Remember when Donald Trump was ahead in the polls? That was too early,” Gov. JB Pritzker said when asked about the poll bounce. 

Gov. JB Pritzker gives a speech at Governor’s Day on the Illinois State Fairgrounds. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Jerry Nowicki)

Pritzker said he doesn’t watch the polls anymore, adding, “There’s going to be plenty of shifting, I’m sure, over the next, you know, 83 days.” 

There was much talk at the two gatherings about the historic firsts Harris would bring to the Oval Office: She’d be the first Black woman president, along with the first woman of Asian descent. 

Lt. Gov Juliana Stratton – the first Black woman to hold that title in Illinois – said it’s important to her and her four daughters to see someone who looks like them elected to the highest office in the land. 

Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton fires up the crowd at Governor’s Day at the Illinois State Fair. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Jerry Nowicki)

“I want to make it clear this is not just about Kamala Harris being a woman or a Black woman or a South Asian woman,” Stratton told reporters. “This is about her being the most qualified person to be president of the United States and the one who can beat Donald Trump.”

Stratton, in her brunch speech, used a talking point that Democrats have rolled out nationally, calling Trump and running mate JD Vance “weird.” 

Comptroller Susan Mendoza used the same line of attack. 

Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza counts on her hand the number of grievances she has with former President Donald Trump and his running mate JD Vance. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Jerry Nowicki)

“We cannot allow Donald Trump or JD Vance to come anywhere near the White House, much less our kids, couches or cats,” she said – referencing a false and debunked claim that Vance wrote in his book, “Hillbilly Elegy,” that he’d been intimate with a couch, as well as his repeated criticisms of “childless cat ladies.” 

Speakers also made frequent talking points out of Trump’s conviction on 34 felony counts in New York for falsifying business records, as well as his track record in appointing most of the Supreme Court justices that would vote to overturn Roe v. Wade.

“I think that Donald Trump has had access to way too many uteruses in his lifetime,” Mendoza said. “…It is up to us to deny him access to them and deny him access to the White House.”

While most Democrats said they’d not seen anything like the polling bump in Harris’ three-week rise, House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, told Capitol News Illinois it reminded him of 2022. 

House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch warms up the crowd at the Illinois Democratic County Chairs’ Association brunch in Springfield on Wednesday. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Jerry Nowicki)

“I saw something similar in polling in ‘22 after the Dobbs decision came down,” he said, referring to the SCOTUS decision striking down Roe. “But this seems to be even more of a bounce, and we’re not even at the convention yet.” 

The Democratic National Convention is scheduled for next week in Chicago, and while Pritzker said he’s looking forward to being able to “extol the virtues” of Illinois and its Democratic Party, he declined to give a preview of his speech when pressed by reporters.  

Many speakers noted the enthusiasm behind Harris reminds them of President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign. The former president, whose political career catapulted to national fame with a 2004 convention speech, is slated to speak on the same day as Pritzker at next week’s convention. 

But Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, said he’s also reminded of 2012. That’s when, Harmon said, Democrats “had to defeat the hatred that had been revealed” upon Obama’s 2008 nomination. A hatred, he said, “that’s still out there.” 

Senate President Don Harmon waves to the crowd at the Illinois Democratic County Chairs’ Association brunch. He encouraged Illinois Democrats to “embrace the boring” of governance. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Jerry Nowicki)

The Senate president – known more for his reserved demeanor than fiery stump speeches – had another message for the assembled Democrats: “Embrace the boring.” 

“We’ve been able to defend reproductive health care, we’ve been able to fight for the environment and good clean jobs,” he said of Illinois Democrats at the morning brunch. “We’ve been able to fight for labor, and we’ve done it – dare I say – while being financially responsible and approaching boring. Defending democracy does not need to be a high-wire act – It can be boring.” 

Later, he told Capitol News Illinois: “Politics doesn’t need to be entertainment. It can just be responsible governing.”

At one point, chants of “Joe, Joe, Joe,” broke out at the fairgrounds as Durbin called Biden dropping out a “selfless decision you can never envision Donald Trump making.” 

Illinois Democrats also boosted Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, with Durbin defending his 24-year career in the National Guard and others playing up the “Midwest Dad” persona. 

“Tim Walz is a guy when your car breaks down on the side of the road, he’ll get his tools and come help you fix it,” Illinois’ junior U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth said. “JD Vance is a guy that calls for the tow truck.” 

U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth delivers a speech at the annual Illinois Democratic County Chairs’ Association brunch. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Jerry Nowicki)

Duckworth opened her speech with another one-liner: “If you want to go backwards, you put your car in R. If you want to go forward, you put it in D.” 

Republicans will rally at the fair Thursday – a day that Treasurer Michael Frerichs pointed out was due for heavy rain, as opposed to Democrat Day, which was slated to be sunny but ended up slightly overcast. 

Illinois Treasurer Michael Frerichs kicks off Wednesday’s Governor’s Day rally at the Illinois State Fair. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Jerry Nowicki)

“What a great metaphor,” he quipped to fairgoers. “However, you see it’s not as sunny as it said it would be. We as Democrats are feeling really excited right now. We’ve got the wind at our back, we’ve got excitement, we’ve got momentum.”

In urging Democrats not to become complacent, he added: “But those winds can change – we cannot control the weather. But we can control our work.”

Jerry Nowicki is editor-in-chief of Capitol News Illinois, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government that is distributed to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.