As if his campaign needed another controversy to doom his chances, Blair Hull, the millionaire businessman running for the Senate in Illinois, admitted yesterday to having used cocaine and sought treatment for alcohol abuse in the 1980s.
With the primary just five days away, whatever was left of Hull’s chances will probably evaporate. Just a few months ago, Hull was riding high and appeared to be the likely Dem nominee in a race the Dems desperately want to win. The campaign started to falter, however, when reports surfaced that he had abused his ex-wife during a messy divorce. As a Chicago Tribune poll showed, Hull had gone from first to distant third in a hurry.
And that was before today’s news.
After a televised forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters, Hull was asked if he had any chemical dependency issues. The 61-year-old multimillionaire said he had not used illegal drugs in a “substantial amount of time” and said it occurred during what he called a “young and foolish” phase of his life 20 years ago.
Later, he said he used cocaine “occasionally” but stopped in the early 1980s, the same time he also said he stopped smoking marijuana.
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“This was 20 years ago,” he said. “If it hasn’t been done in a long time, it doesn’t apply to how one is going to function in the Senate.”
It’s easier to dismiss drug use as a “youthful indiscretion” when you’re actually young, not 40.
Hull’s defense, however, is not entirely wrong. Mistakes he made 20 years ago probably shouldn’t matter much now. And if he had already won the primary, I could make a reasonable argument that Hull could withstand the controversy.
But the fact is Hull isn’t the nominee and Dem voters have other choices on Tuesday. I think it’s safe to assume that they won’t be choosing Hull.