The Republicans may be ready to eat him alive. But it seems that Pat Quinn's biggest problems are still in his own party.
This morning, just after Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes conceded the Democratic nomination for governor, Quinn faced questions about another Democrat, Scott Lee Cohen.
Cohen won the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor on Tuesday. But since then, news reporters have resurrected a 2005 incident in which a woman called police, accusing him of domestic abuse.
According to a police report, she had knife scars on her hands from trying to stop him from hurting her — but she later skipped a court appearance and declined to press charges.
During a press conference after Hynes' concession, Quinn could hardly thank his former opponent before the media posed a question about Cohen.
No one can say he ran away from the press, though: Quinn was generous in answering questions, even waving off his campaign spokeswoman as she tried to end the press conference after several questions.
"I think that it's important that this be cleared up completely," Quinn said of Cohen's past. "I consider these very, very serious and grave matters."
Quinn said that if Cohen's answers are unsatisfactory — and he said that so far, they have been — then he should step down for the sake of his party and Illinois.
"If he doesn't do that, then he's letting the public down."
But a short time later, Cohen indicated that he has no intention of denying Illinois Democratic voters of the nominee they selected. After all, he had divulged problems in his past even before his election.
"I have no intention of stepping down or stepping aside," Cohen said in a statement this afternoon. "When the facts come to light, after my ex-wife and ex-girlfriend speak, the people of Illinois can decide, and I will listen to them directly. I am asking my ex-wife and ex-girlfriend to come forward and to talk with the media."
He denied that he actually hurt his ex-girlfriend.
"I was in a tumultuous relationship with the woman I was dating," he said. "We had a fight, but I never touched her."
Now, it is up to Quinn to decide whether he will touch Cohen with a 10-foot pole. Even during his press conference, which approached an hour in length, he didn't once utter his name.