Scandal-Ridden Former IL Lt. Governor Candidate Scott Lee Cohen Launches Gubernatorial Bid

After appearing on a local talk show with his wife to confirm rumors of beating, attempted rape, using steroids, and not paying his alimony or his taxes, Illinois Lieutenant Governor candidate Scott Lee Cohen gave a tearful farewell to his campaign, presumably never to return to the political world again. Three months later, Cohen is reanimating his campaign for a shot at the big time, announcing an independent run for governor yesterday.

Cohen, who had won the nomination for Lt. governor in the Democratic Party days before his troubled past surfaced, is running on a campaign of honesty and redemption, telling the Chicago Tribune that he believed “Illinois needs honesty more than perfection.” His campaign is claiming that recent polls show he has a decent chance of winning, even as an independent.

Even in his new political role as an independent, however, Cohen seems unable to avoid scandals. The private matters that ended his initial campaign are in still play, but in addition to them the Tribune noted that he began his campaign is making suspicious claims of owning a “green business,” which Cohen claimed was in the works with a distributor, one who “told the Tribune in February that he met with Cohen just once more than a year ago, gave him a tour of his company and never heard from him again.”

At the very least, Cohen can claim something that appears increasingly rare in Illinois campaigns: none of his allegations involve bribery or embezzlement.

The video blog “Illinois Statehouse News” caught up with Cohen at the press event for his new campaign, where he told them that if he “didn’t believe that with the support of the people I could win, I would never run.” Video below: