Jeanne Ives “​​Gives Bailey An Edge” and Slams Rest of Crowded IL GOP Primary Field

Yesterday, one of Illinois’ most powerful Republicans, Jeanne Ives, endorsed far-right Darren Bailey in the crowded GOP primary for governor.

“The endorsement puts Bailey in a strong position to win over conservative voters in the June 28 primary,” Politico reported. WMAY also said it would “boost his standing with conservative GOP voters.”

In a press conference announcing the endorsement, Ives slammed the rest of the GOP field, saying they “have no depth of knowledge on the fiscal problems in Illinois” and think they can hire consultants to solve the state’s problems.

“Republican voters need to be warned. The same people who ran Rauner’s campaign backed by a billion-dollar checkbook are now running the Irvin-Bourne race backed by the same billion-dollar checkbook,” Ives said, directly hitting Richard Irvin. “The Irvin-Bourne campaign cannot be trusted.”

Bailey and Irvin have been trading punches for weeks. The anti-science and anti-choice Bailey has said he wants to outlaw abortion, even in cases of rape and incest. When Irvin was caught flip-flopping on choice, Bailey slammed him for not knowing his Republican talking points well enough.

And just days after Ken Griffin confirmed he’d bankroll Irvin — a move the Chicago Tribune warned was “opening the door to further divisions within the state GOP” — far-right megadonor Richard Uihlein donated $1 million to Bailey’s campaign.

“Extremist Darren Bailey is barreling his way towards frontrunner status and is more than willing to take down Richard Irvin and anyone else in the Illinois GOP primary field who stands in his way,” said DGA Senior Communications Advisor Christina Amestoy. “As the Republican candidates battle for support from party insiders and conservative megadonors, they’ll be too busy echoing out-of-touch talking points to deliver real solutions for Illinois families.”

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