* After spending a not-so-small fortune on TV ads against JB Pritzker, Gov. Rauner now says that “Madigan has rigged the Democratic primary for Pritzker. That outcome in that race was determined last year. At this point they’ve decided to step in and try to change the outcome of the Republican primary and they’re actually supporting Jeanne Ives.” Have a look…
He doesn’t look too happy.
* Zorn…
(T)he real reason Democrats are meddling in the GOP primary — which, for the record, DGA’s local communications director Sam Salustro denies — is they think Ives is so far to the right on the political spectrum that she’ll be easier to beat in November than the more centrist (and fabulously wealthy) Rauner.
That’s very true. But the DGA has Rauner squirming more than I’ve seen him in a while. The trolling factor alone is worth half a mil.
* Hinz…
For governor, multiple sources say the race has tightened enough among both Democrats and Republicans that while front-runners J.B. Pritzker and Bruce Rauner still are likely to win, very close contests and even potentially upsets are possible.
Among Republicans, Rauner has taken down his anti-Pritzker television commercials in recent days and instead is concentrating his TV-ad fire strictly on conservative challenger Jeanne Ives.
He’s also fending off a roughly $500,000 TV ad buy by the Democratic Governors Association—some of the ads blast Rauner, while others call Ives “too conservative,” which actually may help her among Republicans—and Rauner recently raised eyebrows when he outright vetoed a bill to require state licenses for gun shops and dealers instead of ducking a decision until after the primary.
All the Rauner campaign is saying officially is that it’s “taking nothing for granted.” But you can take all of the above as a sign that Team Rauner is worried that, at a minimum, Ives could pull within 10 percent of him. That would be a huge embarrassment for an incumbent governor and raise questions about his ability to unite the party in November.
I told subscribers on Wednesday that Rauner undoubtedly wants to make sure the race doesn’t wind up being anywhere near a single-digit margin. We’ll know on Tuesday.
