Illinois GOP Chairman Don Tracy | Facebook
Illinois GOP Chairman Don Tracy | Facebook
Illinois Republican Party Chairman Don Tracy is questioning an ad buy on behalf of the Democratic Governors Association meant to influence the Republican primary for governor.
"JB Pritzker is a failed Governor and weak man buoyed by his billions in inherited fortune,” Tracy said in his weekly memo. “A lifetime of privilege coupled with obvious desperation has Pritzker believing he is entitled to pick which Republican he will face in the general election. Thankfully, Illinois Republicans are too smart to let Pritzker’s meddling — laundered through the DGA — influence who our nominee is. "The DGA and Governor Pritzker are flailing and it’s important for every person, including the media, to call out this severe case of election meddling."
The Democratic Governors Association put $728,00 into an advertising campaign meant to affect the outcome of the June 28 Republican gubernatorial primary. Pritzker donated $250,000 to the group in December. The first ad buy went against Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin who has been beleaguered for his voting record in favor of Democrats.
State Rep. Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) recently criticized the governor for the ads against Irvin. "Instead of being a man and putting his name on these false attacks, Gov. Pritzker chooses to hide behind political insider groups by forcing them to meddle in the GOP primary on his behalf," Durkin said, Dupage Policy Journal reported.
In response, Irvin has ginned up an ad buy aimed at attempting to smear State Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia) by arguing his campaign is backed by Pritzker. Irvin has been trading in allegations in mailers against Bailey, one of the most conservative members of the Illinois General Assembly, and downstate tech entrepreneur Jesse Sullivan.
Bailey was the subject of a second ad buy by the DGA. "And Bailey proudly embraces the Trump agenda, calling into question our elections and fighting for gun owners and the unborn. Tell Darren Bailey his policies are just too conservative for Illinois," the ad’s narrator says.
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