GOP Unity Watch – Day 101: Ives Still Won’t Back Rauner

“I’m Not Going to Endorse the Governor. I’m Going to Let Him Buy Back His Voters.”

Today marks 101 days since the primary and Governor Bruce Rauner still cannot get the endorsement of his primary rival, state Representative Jeanne Ives. Ives was interviewed by Crain’s Chicago yesterday and her non-endorsement of Rauner came up:

“One indication of the hurdles ahead comes from state Rep. Jeanne Ives of Wheaton, who got 48 percent of the vote against Rauner in the GOP primary and shows no signs of making peace with him. 
Asked if Rauner’s Supreme Court victory is enough to bring her aboard and get her endorsement, Ives had a clear answer: ‘No. I’m not going to endorse the governor. I’m going to let him buy back his voters.’”

Just last week, Rauner claimed he “reached out” to Ives, something he’s falsely claimed before, but it clearly did not work.
“100 days later and Bruce Rauner has failed to win back Jeanne Ives or her supporters,” DGA Illinois Communications Director Sam Salustro. “Three years of failure and lies drove away voters and made Bruce Rauner the most vulnerable incumbent in the nation. Now, Rauner will need to spend the next 100 days keeping Ives voters from supporting Sam McCann.”