Rabine, Schimpf Pick Suburban Running Mates
Former Cook County GOP Chair Aaron Del Mar, who has been chosen as the running mate for GOP gubernatorial candidate Gary Rabine.
Former State Sen. Paul Schimpf is hoping to reboot his struggling gubernatorial campaign Tuesday with the announcement of a moderate suburban woman as his running mate.
Schimpf, a conservative from Waterloo in southern Illinois, will choose McHenry County Board member and former State Representative candidate Carolyn Schofield from Crystal Lake, according to two sources familiar with the announcement.
Neither Schimpf’s campaign or Schofield returned messages from The Illinoize Monday.
Schimpf is scheduled to announce his choice at 10am this morning at the Raue Center for the Arts in Schofield’s hometown of Crystal Lake.
Schofield served on the Crystal Lake City Council from 2009-2012 and on the McHenry County Board from 2012-2016. She lost a Republican primary to Allen Skillicorn in 2016 for the 66th House District. She was elected to the County Board again in 2018 and lost another primary to Skillicorn in 2020. (corrected to fix 2018 date)
Schimpf has trailed the Republican field in fundraising, and advisors hope choosing a suburban woman will help moderate or traditional Republicans give Schimpf a second look. The move could also draw voters away from gubernatorial candidate Gary Rabine, who also lives in McHenry County.
Rabine, meanwhile, has selected former Cook County GOP Chairman Aaron Del Mar as his running mate, sources say. Del Mar is the Palatine Township Committeeman and also serves as the Palatine Township Highway Commissioner. He also served on the Palatine City Council. Del Mar is of Filipino descent.
Del Mar has a problematic oppo book, admitting to threatening a former girlfriend’s new boyfriend and having previously supported Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign.
Rabine’s campaign is expected to announce Del Mar as his running mate in the next few days. Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia) has already chosen former talk radio host Stephanie Trussell as his running mate. Venture capitalist Jesse Sullivan’s campaign has not yet chosen a running mate, we’re told.