Trump To Win In IL, Beyond?

I don’t usually write much about IL politics. Well, it’s usually pretty depressing. However, today NBC has a story about the GOP gubernatorial primary that speaks to the shambolic state of the GOP establishment and of the rise of the MAGA movement.

For most people nationally IL is simply one of the Deep Blue states that are past redemption. While that’s true in many ways, IL is like quite a few of the other Deep Blue states: It’s Deep Blue because it’s dominated by one of the nation’s larger metro areas. Most of the state is nothing like Cook County or even the several suburban counties ringing Chicago. As a result, every now and then when things really hit the fan in IL a Republican will get elected governor. That’s in spite of the undoubted dishonesty of IL elections.

Incredible as this may seem, there remain some few “moderate” Dems in Downstate areas (along with the likes of Adam Kinzinger). Trump is very popular in much of IL and the MAGA movement has made inroads Downstate, counting some excellent Congressmen. As a result, some of the RINOs and “moderate” Dems, including a top Pelosi lieutenant, are being weeded out.

One of the biggest things to hit the fan in IL politics has been its current governor, J. B. Pritzker, from the Pritzker family that pulled all the strings that needed pulling to give America Obama. There were a lot of those strings and pulling them required a lot of money—a Pritzker strength.

Pritzker’s extreme Left politics (extreme Covid Regime, radical social agenda—he’s heavily invested in pharmaceuticals for “transitioning”) and overall unlikeability has made him vulnerable. He needs to be reelected to fulfill his true ambition—running for president in 2024.

Ken Griffin of Citadel Capital is the big money guy behind the GOPe in IL. As if to prove that having a lot of money doesn’t mean you’re smart, Griffin had the bright idea of jamming his handpicked candidate down the throats of Republican voters—a RINO that even Dems could luv. In fact, a RINO who had voted in Dem primaries in 2014, 2016, and 2020. It was a totally top down operation—we’ll give you chumps a candidate, you just vote.

The NBC article is interesting because it chronicles how this all blew up in Griffin’s face, leading to his pulling up stakes and moving to FL:

Inside the Illinois GOP's $50 million primary 'debacle'

Republicans furiously point fingers after the collapse of Richard Irvin, a candidate once advertised as the best bet to compete against billionaire Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

Here’s the bottom line:

CHICAGO — Illinois Republicans have descended into infighting and finger-pointing on the eve of the state’s primaries as a MAGA-aligned candidate for governor appears poised to claim the nomination over the GOP establishment favorite who spent $50 million only to see his prospects collapse.

Richard Irvin, the mayor of Aurora, not only is expected to lose Tuesday, but he could end up in third place or worse, according to recent polls. That’s despite the tens of millions in dollars that a hedge fund billionaire poured into his candidacy — all part of an effort to propel a candidate who party leaders believed could give Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker a tough race in a state where Republicans have typically had to position themselves as moderates to win statewide.

Of course, the word is that Pritzker has been covertly supporting the MAGA candidate, Darren Bailey, because supposedly no Trump backed candidate can win in IL. That’s the CW. Intriguingly, however, NBC does drop this bit of news which plays into yesterday’s news that suburbanites are switching party registration from Dem to GOP:

Darren Bailey, a Trump-supporting conservative from a rural downstate town, took a comfortable lead in the primary weeks ago, according to a Chicago Sun-Times/WBEZ poll that showed him leading among Republicans downstate and in the Chicago suburbs. Trump’s endorsement at a weekend rally in west-central Illinois most likely gives Bailey an even healthier bump among MAGA primary voters who dominate the vote outside the Chicago metropolitan area and suburbs.

“It’s the most epic political failure of all time,” state Rep. Blaine Wilhour, a conservative who supports Bailey, said of the party’s early move to coalesce around Irvin. “It’s a total repudiation of the political establishment from the voters.”

The important part is that Bailey appears to be leading comfortably in the Chicago suburbs. Conservative downstaters normally have trouble with that one, so is this an indication that the Dem brand really is damaged goods? And that suburban “moderates” are having second thoughts about “Orange Man bad”? We’ll maybe get a better idea later today.

In the meantime, to give you some idea of who Pritzker is—for those who don’t know already. It’s important, because money is a big deal in politics, after all:

Billionaire Pritzker family pushing ‘Synthetic Sex Identities’ on Americans

The extensive reach of the Pritzkers in North America’s SSI culture allowed a journalist to conclude that the family 'and others may be well on their way to engineering a new way to be human.'

One of the wealthiest families in America is responsible for a drastic change in how America – and by extension, the world – perceive of sexual identity, according to an extensive report by journalist Jennifer Bilek in Tablet Magazine.

Bilek contends that the Pritzker family, who originally made their fortune through the Hyatt hotel chain, have endeavored to throw their fortune at transgender ideology, or “synthetic sexual identities” (SSI).

…

… the amount of money and resources the Pritzkers have thrown at SSI endeavors is startling.

Who are the Pritzkers?

The current governor of Illinois is J.B. Pritzker and the family’s involvement in politics and medicine go back decades. Over the years, the family has given hundreds of millions of dollars to medical schools and associations.

The Pritzkers are Jewish in origin, from Ukraine initially, and members of the family have made their mark in the military, finance, real estate and government.

“The Pritzkers became the first American family to have a medical school bear its name in recognition of a private donation when it gave $12 million to the University of Chicago School of Medicine in 1968,” Bilek wrote.

Investments such as this “have provided the family with a bridgehead into the world of academic medicine, which it has since expanded in pursuit of a well-defined agenda centered around SSI.”

In 2002, Jennifer Pritzker (who was born James Pritzker), founded the Tawani Foundation, which has funded a variety of medical organizations with the aim of providing “gender care.” S0-called gender care includes forming “gender creative children.”

…

The point is that the Pritzker money is not simply paying lip service to PC causes. The family and its money are movers and shakers in the Great Wokening of America. SSI is absolutely central to their political agenda, as we in IL have seen. So, the election here in IL may be important beyond its borders.