CHICAGO — A coveted high-profile position was unexpectedly available Monday morning: the job of Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor of Illinois.

Skip to next paragraph

Related The Lede: Another Not So Great Moment in Chicago Politics

“Anyone interested should contact me,” said Gov. Patrick J. Quinn, the Democrat who won his party’s nomination for the top of the ticket in a primary last Tuesday. “This is going to be a process that’s open. People can apply and make their case.”

The unlikely vacancy came after an uproar surrounding Scott Lee Cohen, a political newcomer and South Side pawnbroker who won the nomination but stepped aside Sunday night with a teary announcement in a Chicago bar during halftime of the Super Bowl.

As he faced increased scrutiny in the week since the election, Mr. Cohen became an embarrassment for Democrats. With a 2005 arrest on a misdemeanor charge of domestic battery against a former girlfriend and other revelations of spousal abuse and steroid use, Mr. Cohen, 43, faced pressure from party leaders and Mr. Quinn to get out of the race.

After adamantly stating that he would not quit, Mr. Cohen changed his mind.

“All I ever wanted to do was run for office and to help the people,” he said Sunday, “not to create chaos.”

But chaos, some experts say, is what Mr. Cohen left behind.

Illinois law leaves the process of filling nominee vacancies to the political parties, which follow their own guidelines. For Democrats, that means a vote by the 38 members of the state Democratic Central Committee. The committee must first hold open hearings, and anyone can testify as to why he or she should be the nominee.

“They will need time to build a consensus,” said Wayne Steger, a political science professor at DePaul University and an authority on party politics. “They have lots of overlapping loyalties and rivalries. This is a pretty complex situation.”

Political experts, however, think the candidate who finished second to Mr. Cohen, Arthur L. Turner, a veteran state representative, will get the nod. Mr. Turner had the backing of Michael Madigan, the powerful House speaker.

Meetings are scheduled to begin in mid-March.

Mr. Quinn has not made an endorsement. Candidates for governor and lieutenant governor in Illinois run independently in primaries. And Mr. Quinn said he did not know much about Mr. Cohen, who owns a cleaning business in addition to his pawnshop. He financed most of his $2 million campaign himself.

“If the Democratic Party selects the wrong choice to be his replacement without the proper vetting, then we will look stupid again,” said Rickey R. Hendon, a state senator who ran for lieutenant governor, and who would accept the running-mate position if it were offered.

“I have faith that we can get it right,” Mr. Hendon said. “I’ve heard a lot of names float around, and that’s good.”