VARGAS: Illinois GOP Ignores Will of the People, Pushes Anti-Trump Agenda

By Mark Vargas, Editor-in-Chief
Published originally in Newsmax

Under President Joe Biden, the state of our union is in chaos — leaving the embattled, seemingly confused, (and aging) president desperate to save his failing presidency and low poll standings.

And this should come as no surprise.

Since the very beginning of the Biden administration, the economy has struggled leaving hard-working Americans desperate to cover everyday living expenses; crime is skyrocketing in our major cities and surrounding suburbs; children are struggling in the classroom amid plummeting test scores; the Biden Justice Department is weaponized and targeting political enemies — especially Trump; our military leadership is in chaos; we’re an international embarrassment on the world stage and our enemies abroad, including terrorists organizations, are getting stronger — not weaker.

Oh, and our southern border is wide open, allowing violent and dangerous individuals and groups to freely enter our country — no questions asked.

And what does Biden do? He welcomes the migrants with open arms and offers them the chance to work in the U.S. legally.

Oh, and don’t forget: free room and board.

And in sanctuary cities like Chicago, New York and Denver — cities all controlled by Democrats — the migrants are taking over leaving citizens and legal residents — including homeless veterans and homeless single moms traumatized by domestic abuse — left fending for themselves while all the money and resources are re-prioritized and given to support the illegals.

It’s no wonder former President Donald Trump is beating Biden in key swing states and in national polls by six points.

But it doesn’t end there. Trump is also dominating the Republican presidential primary where he leads his only opponent Nikki Haley — who has the support of the anti-Trump wing of the Republican Party — by a staggering 56 points.

Trump not only racked up an impressive and historic victory in Iowa, where he defeated Haley by 32 points, but he also easily defeated Haley nine days later in the New Hampshire primary —where establishment Republicans expected her to do better — by 11 points.

And in South Carolina, where Haley was born and raised and served as the twice-elected governor, she’s trailing Trump by a jaw-dropping 34 points with just days before the primary.

In Texas, another important primary state, Trump is beating Haley by a whopping 61 points.

So what’s the key takeaway? Donald Trump is leading Haley by historic numbers and he is, by all accounts, the presumptive Republican nominee for president of the United States.

So back in Illinois: What’s the current position of the state Republican Party?

According to the embattled state party chairman Don Tracy, the party will remain “neutral” during this primary season.

In other words, they want to wait it out. It’s too early and there’s not enough data to make any predictions just yet.

But again, this should come as no surprise. During the 2020 presidential primary, it was reported that owners in Tracy’s family-owned business — where he is an owner — donated $6,193 to Biden’s campaign. In 2018, owners made only a $250 donation to Trump.

But it was only a year ago when Tracy wanted to reevaluate the state party’s so-called “neutrality” policy after a Trump-endorsed conservative grassroots Republican defeated the state party’s preferred establishment-backed candidate for governor in the 2022 Illinois Republican primary by 43 points.

Tracy then blamed the Trump-endorsed candidate for all of the 2022 statewide midterm election losses — a move that angered the powerful and influential grassroots base of the party.

And last spring key Illinois GOP party leaders, including national committeeman Richard Porter — a close friend and adviser to Tracy and Republican National Committee Chair Ronna Romney McDaniel — endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the presidential primary.

During Republican Day at the Illinois State Fair this past August, Porter was interviewed by the Chicago Tribune where on-record, he repeated a line often used by the Democrats and said that Trump was running for president simply to avoid going to jail.

After both the Chicago Tribune and Illinois Review reported on his on-the-record comments, Porter was in panic mode. Realizing that his inner monologue was now public record, he offered a long, meandering follow-up statement to try and clarify his statement. But the damage was already done.

But none of this is accidental and multiple sources in Illinois confirm that Illinois Republican Party leaders are playing the “neutral” card because they are holding out hope that one of Trump’s 91 criminal charges — 44 federal and 47 state — will stick and he will be jailed before the Republican National Convention in August, leaving Haley or DeSantis as the Republican nominee for president who will face Biden in November.

State party leaders will emphatically and publicly deny that this is the strategy, but this is the truth. And it’s the only reason that explains why they are remaining selectively neutral this presidential primary season — for fear of angering DeSantis or Haley by coming out so quickly in support of Trump.

But the pattern is clear.

Last March, the Illinois Republican Party hosted a fundraiser that featured former U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr, who served as attorney general under Trump. Barr frequently attacks Trump in media interviews and says the GOP presidential front-runner is destroying the Republican Party.

And who served on the host committee? Tracy and Porter.

And when former President Trump visited southern Illinois in June 2022, none of the state party leaders, including Tracy and Porter bothered to show up.

That’s right: The 45th president of the United States of America and the leader of the national party shows up in your backyard, and the state Republican party leaders decide to skip the party.

It’s no wonder Democrats control every lever in the state — the establishment, anti-Trump Republicans within the state party allow it.

From 2007-2010, Mark Vargas served as a civilian in the Office of the U.S. Secretary of Defense, traveling to Baghdad, Iraq, 14 times. Follow Mark on X: @markavargas. Read Mark Vargas’ Reports — Click Here Now.