Inside the Illinois GOP's $50 million primary 'debacle' (primary today!)

Nbcnews.com ^ | 6/28/22 | Natasha Korecki

[cotton1706]

Illinois Republicans have descended into infighting and finger-pointing on the eve of the state’s primaries as a MAGA-aligned candidate for governor appears poised to claim the nomination over the GOP establishment favorite who spent $50 million only to see his prospects collapse.

Richard Irvin, the mayor of Aurora, not only is expected to lose Tuesday, but he could end up in third place or worse, according to recent polls. That’s despite the tens of millions in dollars that a hedge fund billionaire poured into his candidacy — all part of an effort to propel a candidate who party leaders believed could give Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker a tough race in a state where Republicans have typically had to position themselves as moderates to win statewide.

Interviews with more than a dozen Illinois Republicans point to external and internal forces driving Irvin’s flagging levels of support, which have exposed sharp splits within the party between moderates and MAGA conservatives that mirror divides playing out in other states and nationally.

Meanwhile, the GOP establishment, long frustrated by the state’s Democratic Party dominance, is experiencing its own rift. It’s angry over how the Irvin campaign was run, about how he was drafted in the first place and, most significantly, that the best chance Republicans had to defeat Pritzker may have already slipped through their fingers.

“This is the biggest debacle I’ve ever seen. It’s the biggest screw-up I’ve ever seen and the biggest waste of money I’ve ever seen,” said former Illinois Republican Party Chair Pat Brady, who is doing communications work for candidate Gary Rabine.

[I-ambush]

Illinois RINOS. I hate Illinois RINOS.

[Flavious_Maximus]

Just like in the Pennsylvania senate race, where the Republicans decided to run two flaming RINO’s (McCormick and Oz). Now in the general we get to choose between a communist Frankenstein Monster (John Fetterman) or a Sharia Law loving ISIS Islamist (Mohammed Oz).

[Recompennation]

I hope that the populous of this country have realized finally that the aptly named dcswamp contains all the flavors.
Time past for a reboot, just hope it’s sooner than later.

[telescope115]

Me too. This state (Illinois) is infested with them.

[TiGuy22]

Irvin is not even a RINO. He’s a democrat mayor running as a republican thinking his color and donor money would carry him to victory. He believes he can beat the incumbent governor but the party wasn’t going to allow Jelly Belly Pritzker to be primaried. So as a republican he could face JB head to head. Ken Griffey bankrolled this whole debacle.

[rwa265]

Unlike the Pennsylvania senate race, the Trump supported Republican candidate in Illinois is a solid conservative. It is unlikely that a Republican will beat Pritzker, but Hayden did beat him in court, winning a lawsuit against the governor to keep the state open during the pandemic.

From Politico

Bailey is a state senator and farmer who was first elected to office in 2020. In his campaign ads, Bailey has highlighted his support for reducing taxes and government spending while serving in the state senate, his support for law enforcement, his support for Donald Trump (R), and his opposition to Governor J.B. Pritzker (D). A campaign ad said, “In Springfield, Darren stood up for working families and fought against every single tax increase. When Governor Pritzker tried to close Illinois, Darren sued him and won to keep our state open. Now, Darren is running for governor with a plan to cut our taxes, fund our police, and impose term limits on politicians.”

https://ballotpedia.org/Darren_Bailey

[jimmygrace]

There is no debacle, except a moderate republican. If you are going to go down in flames, you may as well go down for something worth standing for, and present a clear choice to voters. How many times has Marine Le Pen gone down in flames, but she has energized her party in France.