Will Rauner Worsen Base Problem by Bailing on Trump?

Rauner Embraced Trump’s Policies, So Why Won’t He Stand with Trump in Illinois?

Governor Bruce Rauner has been sending mixed signals about his relationship with President Donald Trump, and it threatens to exacerbate his already fragile relationship with the Illinois GOP base. Yesterday, Rauner announced he would not attend Trump’s first visit to Illinois after weeks of publicly “cozying up” to the White House.
Rauner’s recent “strong public embrace” of Trump validated his private support, and was also seen as Rauner’s latest attempt to repair his relationship with the Illinois GOP base. Rauner barely survived a nail-biter primary battle with state Representative Jeanne Ives, and now must keep Republicans from voting for state Senator Sam McCann on the Conservative Party ticket. Just last week, two national political analysts shifted the race away from Rauner due to his weak hold over the base.
“Will Bruce Rauner make his base problem worse by bailing on Donald Trump?” said DGA Illinois Communications Director Sam Salustro. “Rauner has always stood with Trump’s harmful policies, so why won’t he stand with him in his first visit to Illinois?”