Prairie State Wire

Max Solomon is running for governor of the state of Illinois, entering the race with extensive academic success.

“We’ve given up,” Solomon said to KPVI. “We’ve given up on Cook County. We’ve given up on a lot of these seats. … I’m tired of going into the ballot box or ballot booth to vote and there’s no candidate for the Republican Party. We’re going to change that.”

“You give the Democrats an inch, they take a mile,” Solomon said in Week 25. “I’m going to make sure that every ballot a Democrat appears (on) is contested by a Republican...I’m not playing nice.”

Max Solomon | Max Solomon for Governor/Facebook

Solomon was born in Nigeria and moved to the United States, where he became a U.S. citizen and received an associate's degree in political science from South Suburban College of Cook County, a bachelor's degree in political science from DePaul University, and a law degree and master's degree in theology from Valparaiso University.

“Illinois has a spending problem and it’s anchored in the pension crisis,” Solomon said. “I believe that if we fix the pension system, we won’t have to deal with the Democrats raising taxes all the time. That’s why I came up with Constitutional Pension Reform (CPR) for Illinois.”

“As governor of the state of Illinois, you will have a Christian, conservative, Republican,” Solomon said. “Christian because I believe it is time to bring God back into politics. I’m a conservative because I will fight for those values and culture and beliefs that are under attack and erosion.”

Businessperson Gray Rabine has raised $1.1 million since Jan. 1, Lawyer Schimpf has raised $79,000, Attorney Solomon has raised $8,500, Army Veteran Jesse Sullivan has raised $1.3 million and Senator Darren Bailey has raised $1.3 million.

The State Journal-Register reported two Republicans dropped from the race: Keisha Smith and Emily Johnson. Smith’s name was removed because she didn’t list a nomination lieutenant governor and Johnson, and her running mate, Brett Mahlen, names were removed because they had issues with their petition sheets.

For more information about the candidates in the Illinois gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, visit Ballotpedia’s webpage.

The primary election is scheduled for June 28.