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Twitter Brings Fun Factoids, Levity to Intense 2014 Illinois Gubernatorial Election

Here’s a look at some of the best Tweets from Election Day and the day after.

Social media has changed the way we follow big news events, and few events are better suited to Twitter coverage than elections. They unfold over many hours as results trickle in, creating ample opportunity for lots of different perspectives on the numbers.

The next day, there’s plenty more opportunity for micro-analysis.

And, of course, Twitter provides an ideal platform for humor from both real and fake accounts. Here’s a look of some the best Tweets from Election Day and the day after. We’ll start with the legit Twitter accounts. Or you can scroll down now to get to some highly amusing work from the anonymous keepers of two fake accounts.

Gov. Pat Quinn’s refusal to concede his defeat provided tremendous fodder for Twitter commentary real and facetious.

First the real stuff.

Still votes to be counted says @GovernorQuinn staff. True, but even if every one is for him he’s still 160,000 short. pic.twitter.com/HdqQ8vmhSm — ChuckGoudie (@ChuckGoudieABC7) November 5, 2014
Chicago Sun-Times columnist Mark Brown had been an outspoken critic of Bruce Rauner (see this column for proof) and a supporter of Quinn, but he was not amused at Quinn’s refusal to concede defeat some 13 hours after Rauner had been proclaimed the winner.

Hey, Pat. Don’t make us all look like sore losers. Time to give it up and graciously concede. — Mark Brown (@MarkBrownCST) November 5, 2014


W/ low turnout, cost/vote for #ILGOV rose to average $24.64: Quinn spent $18.75 per vote, Rauner $30 http://t.co/iNVWd6jabl #twill — Paul Merrion (@pmerrion) November 5, 2014


Quinn needed 1 million Cook Co votes to win, 100K more than 2010. Instead he got about 100K less. http://t.co/A98UHxHLpn#twill — Paul Merrion (@pmerrion) November 5, 2014
Those ballot questions on minimum wage, etc., were supposed to drive Democrats in droves to the polls, where they’d vote for Pat Quinn while giving their thumbs-up to various Democrat-favored ideas. But turnout was down and those who showed up didn’t behave as expected.



IL voters speak: We want @BruceRauner, millionaire tax, higher minimum wage. Wasn’t supposed to work this way. http://t.co/Pzbkimg4XA — Matt Dietrich (@MattReboot) November 5, 2014
Former Chicago Sun-Times Springfield Bureau Chief Dave McKinney famously resigned his post two weeks before the election in a dust-up over his paper’s response to a story he co-authored. Thanks to social media, his resignation did not take his voice out of the election.

Is the Dems’ best hope against Rauner in 2018 Lisa Madigan? Would Tuesday’s results have been any different had she run for gov this year? — Dave McKinney (@davemckinney123) November 5, 2014


Interesting Election fact from @rap30. Quinn lost every county in Illinois except for Cook. — Paul Konrad (@PaulKonrad) November 5, 2014
And now for the fun stuff. It’s unfortunate that Tuesday’s results signal the demise of the fake account @PatQuinnsBrain, one of the funniest fake accounts in Illinois politics. Luckily, we’ve got two months until Quinn leaves office, which means ample opportunity for the keeper/keepers of this account to add more gems like these.

Can a person run for Chicago Mayor without conceding they lost previous election? Asking for a friend. #ILGov #ILGov2014 #twill — Governor Pat Quinn (@PatQuinnsBrain) November 5, 2014


I dreamed last night that I conceded to Bruce Rauner. ROTFL!!! Hilarious, right? I don’t do conceding. #ILGov #twill — Governor Pat Quinn (@PatQuinnsBrain) November 5, 2014


For those who are confused by my actions, please remember that I still haven’t conceded to George Ryan for the 1994 Sec of State race. — Governor Pat Quinn (@PatQuinnsBrain) November 5, 2014
@ILFakeHouseNews was among the pioneers of parody Twitter accounts about Illinois politics. The anonymous keeper of this account brought his/her A game to election night and the day after.



Caption: Pat Quinn refuses to concede that New Coke was a bad idea, or that Sammy Hagar could never really replace David Lee Roth. — IL Fakehouse News (@ILFakeHouseNews) November 5, 2014


Caption: The team that has run government tone deaf refuses to believe its time is over at a Chicago hotel Tuesday night. — IL Fakehouse News (@ILFakeHouseNews) November 5, 2014


Exit Poll: 92 Percent of Illinoisans Voting Relieved They Don’t Have to Think About State Government Again Until 2016 — IL Fakehouse News (@ILFakeHouseNews) November 4, 2014
We’ll let Amanda Vinicky, Capitol bureau chief of Springfield public radio station WUIS, take us out on a warm note.

Even if you’re despairing about the results of last night’s #election2014, remember: the sun will rise again pic.twitter.com/GhgeOJzmXk — Amanda Vinicky (@AmandaVinicky) November 5, 2014
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