“But we have tremendous opportunity with redistricting to stand for our Republicans principles and win back the House.”ĭavis’ central Illinois district is one that is likely to change markedly when the General Assembly draws the new congressional maps. Rodney Davis said at a GOP breakfast earlier in the day at a downtown Springfield hotel. “I know it's frustrating that we don't have the House and the Senate or the presidency, and it's frustrating in Illinois,” U.S. But because of the state’s population loss over the past 10 years, Illinois is losing one of its 18 congressional seats, and Democrats firmly in control of drawing the new maps are expected to do it in a way that collapses one of the downstate GOP districts. In Congress, Democrats hold a narrow lead in both the House and Senate, and historically a new president’s party loses seats in their first midterm election. The party holds a superminority in the General Assembly, and no Republican has won a statewide race since former Gov. Darren Bailey, of Xenia, and Chicago businessman Gary Rabine.ĭespite the enthusiasm on display at the annual Republican Day gathering at the fair, the Illinois GOP faces an uphill battle in the 2022 elections. The people of Illinois are tired, really, of toxic politics I think at this point.”Īlso running for governor on the Republican side next year are state Sen. “And we also ran a campaign where it wasn't toxic. “We won that race by almost 22 points, and the reason we won that race is because we talked about the issues that unite us,” he said. Speaking to reporters at an event earlier in the day, Schimpf recalled his 2016 Illinois Senate race against former Democratic Lt. He was the Republican nominee for attorney general in 2014. Among them is Paul Schimpf, a former GOP state senator from Waterloo who is one of the three announced Republican candidates for governor.
That was not the kind of tone that some other Republicans have been trying to strike as they try to run for statewide office in a largely Democratic state. Andrew Cuomo’s sexual harassment scandals. JB Pritzker’s weight, President Joe Biden’s age and New York Gov. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s physical appearance, Gov. But some of the jokes appeared to make portions of the audience uneasy, including remarks about U.S.
The event was emceed by Paul Palazzolo, clerk of the Sangamon County Circuit Court, who attempted to rouse the crowd with a series of jokes delivered like a standup comic. And the enthusiasm is firmly on the Republican side.” “I've been in the state of Washington, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, New Jersey and now Illinois. “I’ve spent a lot of time in blue states this year and I like what I've seen,” RNC Co-Chairman Tommy Hicks, of Texas, said at the rally. Several hundred of the party faithful gathered at the fairgrounds under a hot sun, waving “Fire Pritzker” placards, to eat barbeque and hear messages from members of the state’s congressional delegation, legislative leaders and officials from the state party and Republican National Committee. Thursday, AugParty focuses on regaining Congress, governor’s officeĬapitol News – Republicans rallied at the Illinois State Fair on Thursday with their eyes firmly set on trying to regain control of Congress and winning back the governor’s office in 2022.