Thursday, March 22, 2018

Chicago, IL – While JB Pritzker has a clear vision for beating Bruce Rauner in the general election, the failed governor is still fighting with Jeanne Ives and grasping at straws to keep a deeply fractured Republican Party from falling apart.

As Democrats unite to beat Bruce Rauner, “the message JB Pritzker used to win a 19-point victory in his primary campaign will be the same one he focuses on in the general election … including a progressive income tax, lowering health care costs, ensuring quality higher education and improving job and wage conditions.” Meanwhile, on the Republican side, chaos:

• Daily Herald: For now, Ives is promising to deliver only one vote. “I’m a Republican. I’ll vote for him, but I will not endorse him,” she said. “I will not campaign for him. … Maybe if he takes out a million-dollar ad buy and admits he lied about me, maybe we’ll talk.”

• State Journal-Register: Ives was not talking up party unity on a radio show Wednesday. On AM 560 in the Chicago market, she told hosts Dan Proft and Amy Jacobson that Rauner “cannot be elected” this year. “He’s a lame duck governor at this point,” she said.

• AP: In her concession speech Ives didn’t pledge to support Rauner in the general election or call for other Republicans to do so. As of midday Wednesday they had not spoken.

• Politico: Rauner’s first order of business is stitching the broken party back together. But the day after the primary, Rauner and Ives were still squabbling over who should have called whom the night before. Ives remained peeved the governor took the stage to claim victory before the two had spoken.

• NBC 5 Chicago: HEADLINE: Ives Won’t Make Nice After Ugly Primary Battle, Refuses to Speak With Rauner

“While Illinoisans across the state unite to put Springfield back on the side of working families, Bruce Rauner and Jeanne Ives won’t even return each other’s calls,” said Pritzker campaign spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh. “Rauner is the worst governor in the country, facing attacks from all sides as he desperately tries to hold the party he fractured together.”

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