CHAMPAIGN – GOP gubernatorial candidate Judy Baar Topinka told county Republicans on Thursday that she can beat Rod Blagojevich.

The state treasurer didn’t bother to slam her Republican primary contenders for the governor’s job, but minced no words about the incumbent.

“I’ve never seen anything quite like this administration,” said Topinka, who previously served as a state representative and state senator. “This man really and truly does not pay attention to the state. Folks up north think he’s down here, and people down here think he’s up north.”

Topinka, who was at the Champaign County Republican headquarters in Champaign, said Blagojevich is “vulnerable” despite a potential $20 million war chest that is “questionable how he got it.”

She portrayed herself as a centrist. “If you liked Jim Edgar, you’ll like me,” she said. “I’m ordinary. I’m in the middle with most of Illinois.”

Topinka, 62, said that, if elected, she will “take a giant Hoover” to state offices, looking for waste and inefficiency. “I’m not promising paradise,” she said. “This place is so messed up it’s going to take a while to clean up.”

She said the current governor has raided funds to get money for his pet projects.

She dismissed Blagojevich’s State of the State proposal for tax credits for good students. “If you didn’t cut higher education, you wouldn’t have to give out tax cuts,” she said.

Topinka did not participate in a candidates’ forum held in Champaign on Sunday and withdrew from another scheduled for WILL later this month.

She said she will take part in five other debates.

“Debates don’t help front-runners, but I’m in more than most,” she said. “Blagojevich isn’t in any.”