POSHARD CONFIDENT OF WIN IN NOVEMBER

MARION, Ill. -- The long days, short nights and a commitment to what he calls "core values" have paid off for Glenn Poshard. The candidate once summarily dismissed as a "regional contender" has turned out to be a heavy hitter in Illinois politics.

The affable, mustachioed Poshard, 52, is the first Illinois gubernatorial candidate from outside the Chicago area since 1968.

"Give me a chance, and I will beat George Ryan," Poshard said several weeks ago, shortly after pollsters had him in second place against four opponents in the hotly-contest Illinois Democratic primary.

Now Poshard gets that chance, and he is likely to make the most of it.

With 99 percent of Illinois precincts reporting, Poshard, who ran a relatively low-budget campaign, had 354,124 votes, 38 percent of the Democratic vote in Tuesday's primary elections.

Poshard defeated Roland Burris, who ran second with 278,183 votes for 30 percent; John Schmidt, who garnered 231,701 votes for 25 percent; and Jim Burns, who had 53,898 votes for 6 percent. Two other candidates split the remainder of the Democratic votes.

In many downstate counties, Poshard enjoyed a 10-to-1 margin of victory.

"I am so proud to be the standard-bearer of this party," said Poshard following his win. "I am ready for the battle. I'm ready to begin. We are going to win this race."

Predictably, Poshard was on the road again Wednesday.

"He met with some people here early in the day, hopped in his van and headed for Chicago," said Dave Strickland, a spokesman in Poshard's Marion office. "He'll be spending most of the day on Interstate 57."

With the Democratic field split among four major candidates, Poshard stayed within striking distance in the Chicago area and rode to victory on the strength of his overwhelming southern popularity.

In Union County he piled up 4,117 votes. His three primary rivals had 373 votes combined. In Massac County he had 1,498 votes. His three rivals had 84 votes combined. He collected 2,114 votes in Alexander County. His opponents, led by Burris' 716 votes, had a combined total of 842 votes. In Pulaski County, he collected 772 out of 1,003 votes.

Poshard expressed gratitude for his following in Southern Illinois. "This victory would never have been possible without people who passed out literature, knocked on doors and put in time on telephone banks," said Poshard. "It was a great grass-roots effort."

A few months ago Poshard was an obscure congressman from a conservative district in Southern Illinois. He was retiring after his 10 years in Congress because of a self-imposed term limit, and he refused to accept donations from political action committees. But Poshard won the support of some key Democrats -- notably House Speaker Michael Madigan of Chicago -- and some labor leaders to lend strength to his campaign.

While Poshard has some conservative social views, he could also point to more mainstream Democratic views on labor, children and other issues. "I've always stood for the core values of this party. I never strayed away from those," Poshard said.

Poshard has long displayed a down-home style and knack for nitty-gritty organization.