Ives Strikes Back: Won’t Talk to “Unelectable” Rauner

Ives: “I really don’t care to say anything to the Governor at this point”

The fractures in the Illinois Republican Party aren’t going away any time soon. This morning, Governor Bruce Rauner admitted he hadn’t called Jeanne Ives after their contentious primary ended last night. And now in an interview on Chicago’s Morning Answer, Ives says she has no interest in speaking to Rauner.
Watch the video here

Amy Jacobson: So yesterday, Governor Rauner did not give you a phone call before he went up and took to the lectern and gave his victory speech, because there were some problems with the ballot boxes in DuPage County, and that you fared very well in DuPage County. So, what do you want to say to Governor Rauner this morning?
Ives: “Governor Rauner can talk to himself in the mirror and look at himself and decide whether or not he’s proud of what he’s done all around, from his governorship to the way that he ran this campaign. I really don’t care to say anything to the Governor at this point, quite frankly.”

It got even worse. Ives went on to call Rauner a “lame duck governor” who “destroyed the Republican Party brand,” and is “unelectable in 2018.”
Watch here

Amy Jacobson: Pat Brady last night was on WGN TV and ripped on Dan Proft and John Tillman a bunch of times. But basically said, told conservatives ‘we don’t need you and go away.’ Do you think Governor Rauner obviously needs conservatives or some conservatives behind him to even scratch at the door of JB Pritzker?
Ives: Sure, he’s ruined his run in November, already. And we said that on the campaign trail. It’s not like I was lying to anybody. He’s unelectable in 2018. And my husband’s not going to vote for him. There’s no way. He cannot be elected. And he’s destroyed the Republican Party brand, quite frankly.

So much for party unity.
“This is what Bruce Rauner gets for ignoring the 48 percent of the Republican party who wanted Jeanne Ives as the nominee,” said DGA Illinois Communications Director Sam Salustro. “Jeanne Ives is just saying what everyone already knows: Bruce Rauner has lost the support of his own party and is in deep trouble heading into this general election.”