* Tina Sfondeles at the Sun-Times…

Still reeling from a national embarrassment two years ago, the Illinois Republican Party is launching a late primary five-figure ad blitz against Holocaust denier Arthur Jones in the Southwest Side and suburban 3rd Congressional District, targeting the avowed anti-Semite with robocalls, mailers, digital ads and face-to-face warnings to voters.

The five-member Illinois Republican Congressional delegation is also endorsing Will County Board Member Mike Fricilone for the GOP nomination, calling him a “very clear choice” and an antidote to Jones, whom they call a “fake Republican.” […]

While attention has centered on the Democratic primary and whether U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski can cling to victory over challengers Marie Newman and Rush Darwish, political observers are also curious just how many votes Jones may get in the March 17 primary.

In 2018, Jones caught the GOP by surprise and wound up running unopposed in the primary after party leaders failed to field an alternative candidate in the heavily Democratic congressional district. […]

“We have plans to spend upwards of $50,000, and as more money is raised, that money will go directly to defeating Nazi Arthur Jones,” party spokesman Joe Hackler said.

* No TV ads, though. Here’s one of the digital ads…

* Press release…

Will County Board Member Mike Fricilone today announced he has received the endorsement of the entire Illinois Republican Congressional Delegation in his bid to secure the Republican nomination for Congress. Fricilone is running for Congress in Illinois’ 3rd Congressional District. His opponent is Arthur Jones, a former leader of the American Nazi Party and Holocaust denier.

The delegation is made up of Republican Congressmen Mike Bost (IL-12), Rodney Davis (IL-13), Adam Kinzinger (IL-16), Darin LaHood (IL-18) and John Shimkus (IL-15).

Joint Statement from Illinois Republican Congressional Delegation

Republicans in Illinois’ 3rd Congressional District have a very clear choice in the race for the GOP nomination for Congress. Mike Fricilone is our choice in the upcoming Primary Election. Mike is running on a platform with fresh, bold and conservative ideas that would help the people of the 3rd District as well as our nation.


We also in the strongest terms condemn the candidacy of fake Republican and former American Nazi Party leader Arthur Jones. His hateful rhetoric has no place in the Republican Party or our nation.

Quote from Will County Board Member Mike Fricilone

“I am deeply honored and humbled by the Primary Election endorsements of Congressmen Bost, Davis, Kinzinger, LaHood and Shimkus. During my time on the Will County Board, both as Republican Leader and Finance Chairman, I have worked to ensure that we always had an agenda that would move our community forward with conservative ideas. I am running for Congress on a record of actual accomplishment, while my opponent is running for Congress to have a platform to spread hate and deny the Holocaust. I stand strongly with the Republican Members of Congress from Illinois who seek out common sense conservative solutions to improve the lives of families throughout the State of Illinois.”

The ILGOP is also holding a press conference today in the city.

       

22 Comments - Roadrager - Thursday, Mar 5, 20 @ 9:02 am: But I had it on authority they were very fine people. - Anonymously - Thursday, Mar 5, 20 @ 9:06 am: Is that supposed to be an attack ad? /s - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Mar 5, 20 @ 9:13 am: If Jones wins, agains, both Schneider and Shaw should step down. Once is a mistake, twice becomes a pattern. - Dance Band on the Titanic - Thursday, Mar 5, 20 @ 9:14 am: Must be painful for a committee that is not exactly swimming in millions of dollars to have to spend their limited resources on this. - efudd - Thursday, Mar 5, 20 @ 9:17 am: Reaping what one sows, something, something. Your party’s standard bearer admonished the protesters at a white pride rally as much as the white pride participants. - cover - Thursday, Mar 5, 20 @ 9:23 am: = Must be painful for a committee that is not exactly swimming in millions of dollars to have to spend their limited resources on this. = What’s the over/under on Jones’ share of the vote in that GOP primary? 25%? 45%? The party’s attack ad tells me that the GOP itself thinks it’s at least 40%. I wish it was no more than 5%, but sadly that seems unrealistic. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Mar 5, 20 @ 9:31 am: === Must be painful for a committee that is not exactly swimming in millions of dollars to have to spend their limited resources on this.=== Top shelf stuff. Recruiting, and lacking there again and again, continues to haunt, while nationally the “both sides” mantra is embracing this hatred and racism. The Illinois Republican Party has a great, almost unbelievable, opportunity this coming November. With POTUS deciding Blagojevich should be commuted, the Illinois Republicans can decide here and now to make this cycle the one to clean house and dedicate the state apparatus to building in the suburbs and Chicago by making “all things local” because the national narrative and Blago will only sink the party the more it hangs on to those things. When the new map arrives, the “new” party will already be mobilized to face the challenges. Waiting to get waxed, again, and sunk, again, by this POTUS and his national divisive narrative isn’t a long term winning strategy here in Illinois. It’s time to realize unless the whole party apparatus here makes it impossible for Jones to feel at all comfortable here and having candidates that make Jones impossible to support, it will cost far more money to stop how others want to define this party. If Jones wins, Schneider and Shaw should step down. There needs to be a clean break from Raunerism, and a clean break from the national division the GOP requires, and build a party here in Illinois that it once had where the Reagan Rule wasn’t a punchline but had strength in all Illinois regions and those regions worked for that better Illinois. This is a big test with Jones. That’s not hyperbole, it’s honest to the state of the state party. - Victor Kingston - Thursday, Mar 5, 20 @ 9:34 am: Jones is absolutely going to win again. He’s the only candidate with name recognition. Neither of the other two candidates is known in the district and word is they haven’t actually worked the district in any significant way. Write it down. The Nazi is getting the nod again. - don the legend - Thursday, Mar 5, 20 @ 9:36 am: I’m confused because Rodney and Darin are supporting President Trump and President Trump believes and says that there are good people on both sides. - City Zen - Thursday, Mar 5, 20 @ 9:39 am: ==He’s the only candidate with name recognition.== And many of the R’s I know in that district are pulling D ballots in the primary. - TheInvisibleMan - Thursday, Mar 5, 20 @ 10:03 am: The GOP has been spending their time defending accusations of being a Nazi for awhile now. And their supporters have been trained to ignore those claims as simple name calling. Now that they have an actual Nazi on their ticket, a not insignificant proportion of their voters are going to vote for him because he is being called a Nazi, out of spite to those calling him names. Something something reap what you sow. - Cheryl44 - Thursday, Mar 5, 20 @ 10:25 am: That man needs a facial care regimen. - a drop in - Thursday, Mar 5, 20 @ 11:06 am: “Vote no on Arthur Jones” That’s not an option on the ballot. Seriously, who is in charge here? - Levois J - Thursday, Mar 5, 20 @ 11:19 am: I get the ads, however, to defeat this Nazi they need to put up candidate that not only can defeat him. They also need a candidate who can win a general election. I tried real hard not to call him names such as clown or a bigot. Though the latter is a tad more fitting due to his associations… - Huh? - Thursday, Mar 5, 20 @ 11:37 am: Too little, too late. Should have been challenging his petitions. - Maryjane - Thursday, Mar 5, 20 @ 11:42 am: Going with the assumption that we want him defeated, I’ll restate my last comment with the words of someone better at this than I am: “If your opponent is temperamental, seek to irritate him.” and, “Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected”. Sun Tsu “The Art of War” - Concerned Observer - Thursday, Mar 5, 20 @ 2:22 pm: Late to this party, but… Last night I got a robocall from Fricilone, which I found interesting largely because it is the only communication I have gotten from any Republican candidate this cycle. I was pulling a D ballot anyway, and I have gotten a lot of D attention by mail and phone, so I think the Rs might be dialing by demographic and not by, like, a mailing list or something. Also, even though Marie Newman herself came to my door a few weeks ago, and I told her and her staffer that she had my vote, I still got a volunteer call from her campaign today. Dunno what that means, just a tidbit. - Name - Thursday, Mar 5, 20 @ 3:16 pm: If enough Republicans pull a Democratic ballot, Jones will win due to name recognition. His yard signs are everywhere. - Candy Dogood - Thursday, Mar 5, 20 @ 4:18 pm: ===The Illinois Republican Party has a great, almost unbelievable, opportunity this coming November.=== There are always many great opportunities for those who kill the king, so long as they succeed at killing the king. The State Party may not be able to remake itself after that fashion with the congressional delegation leading the GOP parade. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Mar 5, 20 @ 4:24 pm: === The State Party may not be able to remake itself after that fashion with the congressional delegation leading the GOP parade.=== That’s probably mostly true, but those selfish enough to ignore the big picture to stay in congress aren’t usually the ones dedicated to building a state party anyway. When you look at Bost, LaHood, Davis and Kinzinger, you’re not looking at Reagan Rule folks, you’re looking at congressmen who see winning at the base level is their best chance to go back to DC… when they get challenged or not. The work is going to be terribly hard, but the alternative is getting below 16 in the state senate and below 40 in the state house. I’m not seeing the congressional delegation as helpful in building the state party *now*… - Pundent - Thursday, Mar 5, 20 @ 5:10 pm: =When you look at Bost, LaHood, Davis and Kinzinger, you’re not looking at Reagan Rule folks, you’re looking at congressmen who see winning at the base level is their best chance to go back to DC= They often say that the team is only as strong as the weakest (or laziest) player. And the names you just rattled off all fit that bill. The ILGOP seems perfectly content to have the party defined by these folks. One loss by another it’s turning it into a regional and largely irrelevant party in this state. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Mar 5, 20 @ 5:13 pm: ===The ILGOP seems perfectly content to have the party defined by these folks. One loss by another it’s turning it into a regional and largely irrelevant party in this state.=== Change out Shaw and Schneider, allow Durkin and Brady to take over for the Raunerites and decide to move beyond the ignorant regional silliness, like the eastern bloc… and you can start to build, even with a congressional delegation bent on saving their own skins. It’s up to Brady and Durkin to decide to be the change. They won’t listen to me, so others need to make them hear. :) Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.