By Illinois Review
In a Facebook post on Tuesday, former Illinois State Senator and Republican nominee for governor Darren Bailey publicly called for the first time for IL GOP chairman Don Tracy to “step down,” writing,
“Enough with this nonsense! The Republican Party wants to distract from their failures by blaming the candidates that they have no control over! THE PEOPLE PICK THE CANDIDATES! Mr. Tracy, I have been patient with you, but it’s time to follow Jim Durkin’s lead and step down. The Republican Party Platform has the answers to all of our state’s problems. We simply need real leadership and candidates who will stand For The People!!!”
Two hours later, Bailey made another Facebook post, featuring a picture of his grandchild having a visceral reaction after tasting a lemon, with the comment,
“That look I get from my grandchildren when I try to have a conversation about the future of Illinois under current state party leadership…”
The post was in response to Tracy, who on Monday, appeared on Bishop on Air on WMAY radio and blamed Bailey for midterm election losses, and said the IL GOP needs to re-evaluate their primary election neutrality policy moving forward.
A move that would most certainly prevent another conservative grassroots candidate like Bailey from winning a gubernatorial primary in the future.
During the shocking interview, Tracy said,
“And a lot of these great candidates we had this past time put their heart and soul and their family treasure into these races only to be impacted by the top of the ticket, something they have no control over…So I think we almost have a fiduciary duty to look at our primary and determine whether neutrality is the best policy.”
To suggest that candidates put their “family treasure” into the campaigns and yet fail to mention the Bailey family sacrifices is an insult. Just a month before the general election, Bailey’s mother Jean donated $700,000 to his campaign.
Bailey’s family treasure significantly dwarfs, by many multiples, the contribution of any other candidate in the general election to his or her campaign.
During the primary, Bailey defeated Tracy and the IL GOP’s preferred candidate Richard Irvin by a whopping 43 points.
And for Tracy to admit publicly that the IL GOP should re-evaluate whether neutrality was the best policy during the primary is shocking. It should go without saying that the Illinois Republican Party should remain neutral during the primary.
Let the people decide who will represent them – not a few out of touch political insiders like Tracy and the IL GOP.
Bailey was right then and he is right now.
Let “THE PEOPLE PICK THE CANDIDATES!”
