You can tell a lot about someone based on their friends. Take Richard Irvin. The real Richard Irvin is a lifelong liberal Democrat. Irvin voted for Barack Obama in the Democratic primary for President. Irvin is so liberal that he’s been a strong supporter of Lori Lightfoot. And Irvin called JB Pritzker a ‘great leader’ and a ‘great friend.’ So, the next time you see Richard Irvin’s TV ads, remember, Richard Irvin is a lifelong liberal you just can’t trust.
The ad has been spotted on both cable and Chicago broadcast.
The $1.8 million ad buy set to begin across Illinois on Monday will mark the first TV commercials that Bailey has aired in the Chicago area.
“We’re turning up the heat,” DeBose said.
The latest contribution from Uihlein brings his contributions to Bailey’s campaign to more than $6 million. But that still pales in comparison to the competing largesse from hedge-fund billionaire Ken Griffin, who so far is bankrolling Irvin’s bid for governor to the tune of $45 million.
As long as Griffin, I mean Irvin, wants to waffle on who he voted for this will stick.
- Grandson of Man - Tuesday, May 17, 22 @ 9:23 am:
Excellent ad, simple and to the point. Rated A. Couldn’t disagree more politically with the Baileys and Profts of Illinois, but they’re being played by someone who will shape-shift at the command of handlers and funders, and political necessity. Could relate and empathize.
- Bruce( no not him) - Tuesday, May 17, 22 @ 9:25 am:
A
But… We’ve seen some of your friends Darren. Sure you wanna bring friends up?
As an actual liberal, I can’t take anyone seriously who refers to people who are middle of the road/leaning right as liberals. So the F is for making up stuff that isn’t true.
A problem for Bailey with waiting so long to run these types of ads in Chicago is, Irvin has been running similar ads and mailers about him for months. The image of Bailey may be baked into voters minds already, and some of its impact of this ad might be mitigated by voters seeing both ads and thinking “they’re all saying the same thing about each other”
- former cubs fan - Tuesday, May 17, 22 @ 9:40 am:
Bailey goes straight to negative ads. This tells me that he doesn’t believe that he can drive his own numbers up, or that he doesn’t have the required funding to go dual track. He can only afford negatives meant to drive Irvin’s numbers down. Its going to be very negative for the next month and a half.
- Three Dimensional Checkers - Tuesday, May 17, 22 @ 9:46 am:
B. The production could be better, but it gets his message across and speaks directly to the voters he has to mobilize to win.
-This tells me that he doesn’t believe that he can drive his own numbers up, or that he doesn’t have the required funding to go dual track.-
And/or he can’t figure out what to say about himself in the large media markets. Is he gonna run ads in Chicago talking about being a farmer from a town of 400 people wanting to run the state? That’s a tough sell even in a GOP primary up north.
I would give it a B. While it points out why you wouldn’t want to vote for Irvin, it doesn’t give you a reason to vote for Bailey. It could just as easily be a Sullivan or Rabine ad. Bailey’s challenge is not only Irvin but distinguishing himself from the rest of the field. This ad doesn’t accomplish the later.
I said previously that giving Bailey money did not guarantee he’d spend it wisely and this is proof of that. Everybody in this GOP primary is a secret liberal Democrat. Nothing in this ad distinguishes Bailey apart from the others.
The Bailey people need to hammer Irvin on abortion and what distinguishes Irvin as a liberal and Bailey as the only choice for the Pro Life GOP voter. How is Irvin an untrustworthy liberal? Because we can’t trust him to protect life. That sort of messaging would both hurt Irvin and boost Bailey in the primary.
Bailey has to expose Irvin’s squishiness on abortion if he hopes to beat him in the primary.
This ad is like Bud Light saying, “no, we’re less filling and we taste great.”
- TheInvisibleMan - Tuesday, May 17, 22 @ 9:58 am:
D
Many in his audience were gushing just yesterday about how much integrity Bailey has for not running negative ads.
I didn’t have the heart to break it to them that he hasn’t run any negative ads yet because he didn’t have any money up until… now.
=Might be the best shot for the primary, but if it doesn’t work it June it’ll help Irvin in November.=
If Bailey gets the nod, all JB has to do for the general is broadcast Bailey’s regular Facebook Bible/MAGA soliloquies on all major Chicagoland news outlets. He’s seriously out of touch with 75% of the voters in the state.
=Might be the best shot for the primary, but if it doesn’t work it June it’ll help Irvin in November.=
Not so sure about that. Irvin could easily win the primary with 60-70% of Republican supporting someone else. He’ll need every one of those votes in November.
the ad is OK,but not great production value C+. I actually think it helps Irvin in primary and general. He will lose the purity test GOP voters - but that was a foregone conclusion. In the GOP circles I run in, the electability theme around Irvin is strong and growing. Showing he has the ability to work with Dems (which will be in the supermajority should he win) may be a positive for undecided GOP voters.
–Many in his audience were gushing just yesterday about how much integrity Bailey has for not running negative ads.–
No problem for Bailey, all will be forgiven. Like all Trumplican candidates, there is no action or statement that can’t be explained away to the True Believers in the Cult of Trump.
B+. Good ad, hits the right message. Only deduction is for the last line. Bailey still can’t give up his obsession with Irvin’s messaging. Sometimes you gotta pretend your opponent’s campaign doesn’t exist.
Is it too much to hope for the day when Irvin, Bailey, Sullivan, and Rabine each has to answer real questions from knowledgeable reporters?
— how are you gonna get anything done when your party is in the super minority?
— explain the steps and legal requirements required to get term limits on the ballot.
—No handouts, what gets eliminated?
—You do know that the governor will have no authority to commute Madigan’s sentence? If so, why do you keep advertising a lie?
— Cut income taxes…have you met the education, and social services communities? What state services will you cut?
—Cut property taxes… Have you met your local officials, and school officials? What do you cut?
Minor rant, I know the answer, but I feel better for at least asking.
Any real or peceived Lightfoot connection will prevent Irvin from picking up any votes in Chicago. She might be a non-factor in the suburbs. But she is an albatross in the city. JB has done a good job of keeping her at arms length.
==I actually think it helps Irvin in primary and general.==
Of course you do, but in reality being called a “lifelong liberal” will never help you in a Republican primary, and this ad will be long forgotten by the General.
It pushes all those Republican hot buttons. Why, I can see angry old white men with mustaches banging their fist on the arm of their La-Z-Boys, swearing to send that tree-hugger Irvin back to Aurora instead of Springfield.
It might not matter that Bailey is a crew-cut farmer from Podunk, IL who thinks he can do anything against a Democrat-majority legislature.
If Bailey gets the Trump endorsement, he’s GOP gold.
- Flyin' Elvis'-Utah Chapter - Tuesday, May 17, 22 @ 9:22 am:
B-as in Bailey’s best shot.
As long as Griffin, I mean Irvin, wants to waffle on who he voted for this will stick.
- Grandson of Man - Tuesday, May 17, 22 @ 9:23 am:
Excellent ad, simple and to the point. Rated A. Couldn’t disagree more politically with the Baileys and Profts of Illinois, but they’re being played by someone who will shape-shift at the command of handlers and funders, and political necessity. Could relate and empathize.
- Bruce( no not him) - Tuesday, May 17, 22 @ 9:25 am:
A
But… We’ve seen some of your friends Darren. Sure you wanna bring friends up?
- Henry Francis - Tuesday, May 17, 22 @ 9:28 am:
Not only does it hit Irvin, but the Chicago audience is spared Bailey’s face and voice - smart.
- walker - Tuesday, May 17, 22 @ 9:29 am:
B+ Clear message. The graphics are attractive but might be distracting.
- Arsenal - Tuesday, May 17, 22 @ 9:30 am:
Pretty good, with the highest production values Bailey has managed yet, but we still need the “Vote *for* Bailey” ad.
And the looming question is if there’s more coming. if Bailey goes dark again after the 1-2 weeks $2M gets ya, he’ll still lose.
- Just Me 2 - Tuesday, May 17, 22 @ 9:34 am:
Found it interesting his big ad is a negative one for Irvin and not one to introduce himself.
- Cheryl44 - Tuesday, May 17, 22 @ 9:36 am:
As an actual liberal, I can’t take anyone seriously who refers to people who are middle of the road/leaning right as liberals. So the F is for making up stuff that isn’t true.
- Socially DIstant watcher - Tuesday, May 17, 22 @ 9:37 am:
Might be the best shot for the primary, but if it doesn’t work it June it’ll help Irvin in November.
- fs - Tuesday, May 17, 22 @ 9:39 am:
C, mainly because of the timing.
A problem for Bailey with waiting so long to run these types of ads in Chicago is, Irvin has been running similar ads and mailers about him for months. The image of Bailey may be baked into voters minds already, and some of its impact of this ad might be mitigated by voters seeing both ads and thinking “they’re all saying the same thing about each other”
- former cubs fan - Tuesday, May 17, 22 @ 9:40 am:
Bailey goes straight to negative ads. This tells me that he doesn’t believe that he can drive his own numbers up, or that he doesn’t have the required funding to go dual track. He can only afford negatives meant to drive Irvin’s numbers down. Its going to be very negative for the next month and a half.
- Three Dimensional Checkers - Tuesday, May 17, 22 @ 9:46 am:
B. The production could be better, but it gets his message across and speaks directly to the voters he has to mobilize to win.
- DuPage - Tuesday, May 17, 22 @ 9:47 am:
Irvin forces: Incoming mud fling. Prepare to counter-fling.
- cover - Tuesday, May 17, 22 @ 9:48 am:
= We’ve seen some of your friends Darren. Sure you wanna bring friends up? =
Among GOP primary voters who might consider voting for Darren Bailey, those “friends” are probably seen in a positive light.
- Downstate - Tuesday, May 17, 22 @ 9:49 am:
“This tells me that he doesn’t believe that he can drive his own numbers up”
“audience is spared Bailey’s face and voice - smart”
Both comments are spot on. Let’s see if Irvin can win a two-front war against Bailey and the DGA.
- Ron Burgundy - Tuesday, May 17, 22 @ 9:50 am:
-This tells me that he doesn’t believe that he can drive his own numbers up, or that he doesn’t have the required funding to go dual track.-
And/or he can’t figure out what to say about himself in the large media markets. Is he gonna run ads in Chicago talking about being a farmer from a town of 400 people wanting to run the state? That’s a tough sell even in a GOP primary up north.
- Rich Miller - Tuesday, May 17, 22 @ 9:55 am:
===doesn’t have the required funding to go dual track===
DGA is handling positive track for now. lol
- Pundent - Tuesday, May 17, 22 @ 9:56 am:
I would give it a B. While it points out why you wouldn’t want to vote for Irvin, it doesn’t give you a reason to vote for Bailey. It could just as easily be a Sullivan or Rabine ad. Bailey’s challenge is not only Irvin but distinguishing himself from the rest of the field. This ad doesn’t accomplish the later.
- 47th Ward - Tuesday, May 17, 22 @ 9:57 am:
D-
I said previously that giving Bailey money did not guarantee he’d spend it wisely and this is proof of that. Everybody in this GOP primary is a secret liberal Democrat. Nothing in this ad distinguishes Bailey apart from the others.
The Bailey people need to hammer Irvin on abortion and what distinguishes Irvin as a liberal and Bailey as the only choice for the Pro Life GOP voter. How is Irvin an untrustworthy liberal? Because we can’t trust him to protect life. That sort of messaging would both hurt Irvin and boost Bailey in the primary.
Bailey has to expose Irvin’s squishiness on abortion if he hopes to beat him in the primary.
This ad is like Bud Light saying, “no, we’re less filling and we taste great.”
- TheInvisibleMan - Tuesday, May 17, 22 @ 9:58 am:
D
Many in his audience were gushing just yesterday about how much integrity Bailey has for not running negative ads.
I didn’t have the heart to break it to them that he hasn’t run any negative ads yet because he didn’t have any money up until… now.
- Real - Tuesday, May 17, 22 @ 9:59 am:
As Rich pointed out, the DGA hit ads on Bailey give republican primary voters a reason to vote for him.
- Dysfunction Junction - Tuesday, May 17, 22 @ 10:00 am:
=Might be the best shot for the primary, but if it doesn’t work it June it’ll help Irvin in November.=
If Bailey gets the nod, all JB has to do for the general is broadcast Bailey’s regular Facebook Bible/MAGA soliloquies on all major Chicagoland news outlets. He’s seriously out of touch with 75% of the voters in the state.
- Pundent - Tuesday, May 17, 22 @ 10:02 am:
=Might be the best shot for the primary, but if it doesn’t work it June it’ll help Irvin in November.=
Not so sure about that. Irvin could easily win the primary with 60-70% of Republican supporting someone else. He’ll need every one of those votes in November.
- Baloneymous - Tuesday, May 17, 22 @ 10:04 am:
==DGA is handling positive track for now. lol==
That actually made me laugh out loud.
It’s a good ad, B+. Now let’s see if they do another poll in a week or two and if this along with the DGA ads made a dent.
- Former Downstater - Tuesday, May 17, 22 @ 10:09 am:
There’s actually a positive ad now also running in Chicago. Voiceover and on screen featuring his running mate.
- Donnie Elgin - Tuesday, May 17, 22 @ 10:18 am:
the ad is OK,but not great production value C+. I actually think it helps Irvin in primary and general. He will lose the purity test GOP voters - but that was a foregone conclusion. In the GOP circles I run in, the electability theme around Irvin is strong and growing. Showing he has the ability to work with Dems (which will be in the supermajority should he win) may be a positive for undecided GOP voters.
- froganon - Tuesday, May 17, 22 @ 10:18 am:
–Many in his audience were gushing just yesterday about how much integrity Bailey has for not running negative ads.–
No problem for Bailey, all will be forgiven. Like all Trumplican candidates, there is no action or statement that can’t be explained away to the True Believers in the Cult of Trump.
- vern - Tuesday, May 17, 22 @ 10:19 am:
B+. Good ad, hits the right message. Only deduction is for the last line. Bailey still can’t give up his obsession with Irvin’s messaging. Sometimes you gotta pretend your opponent’s campaign doesn’t exist.
- Real - Tuesday, May 17, 22 @ 10:22 am:
They should of used a different picture of Irvin. Why use the one where he is smiling and not all the other ones where he looks unappealing.
- TheInvisibleMan - Tuesday, May 17, 22 @ 10:27 am:
“should of”
Should have
Sorry. Pet peeve.
- zatoichi - Tuesday, May 17, 22 @ 10:28 am:
That guy is really bad so vote for me. Yeah, that’ll work.
- Arsenal - Tuesday, May 17, 22 @ 10:31 am:
==That guy is really bad so vote for me. Yeah, that’ll work. ==
It…often does?
- Jocko - Tuesday, May 17, 22 @ 10:40 am:
I’d give it a B+. Would’ve given it an A had he done the “I’m Darren Bailey, candidate for governor, and I approve this message.”
- Langhorne - Tuesday, May 17, 22 @ 10:44 am:
Is it too much to hope for the day when Irvin, Bailey, Sullivan, and Rabine each has to answer real questions from knowledgeable reporters?
— how are you gonna get anything done when your party is in the super minority?
— explain the steps and legal requirements required to get term limits on the ballot.
—No handouts, what gets eliminated?
—You do know that the governor will have no authority to commute Madigan’s sentence? If so, why do you keep advertising a lie?
— Cut income taxes…have you met the education, and social services communities? What state services will you cut?
—Cut property taxes… Have you met your local officials, and school officials? What do you cut?
Minor rant, I know the answer, but I feel better for at least asking.
- Honest Truth - Tuesday, May 17, 22 @ 10:56 am:
Any real or peceived Lightfoot connection will prevent Irvin from picking up any votes in Chicago. She might be a non-factor in the suburbs. But she is an albatross in the city. JB has done a good job of keeping her at arms length.
- Arsenal - Tuesday, May 17, 22 @ 10:57 am:
==I actually think it helps Irvin in primary and general.==
Of course you do, but in reality being called a “lifelong liberal” will never help you in a Republican primary, and this ad will be long forgotten by the General.
- JS Mill - Tuesday, May 17, 22 @ 12:44 pm:
=In the GOP circles I run in=
Good to know that you run in circles.
=Showing he has the ability to work with Dems=
All evidence to the contrary. He is attacking all of the Democratic sacred cows.
- Streator Curmudgeon - Tuesday, May 17, 22 @ 2:43 pm:
B.
It pushes all those Republican hot buttons. Why, I can see angry old white men with mustaches banging their fist on the arm of their La-Z-Boys, swearing to send that tree-hugger Irvin back to Aurora instead of Springfield.
It might not matter that Bailey is a crew-cut farmer from Podunk, IL who thinks he can do anything against a Democrat-majority legislature.
If Bailey gets the Trump endorsement, he’s GOP gold.
- Shytown - Tuesday, May 17, 22 @ 3:16 pm:
Not a Bailey fan, but this ad is an A+.
- The Dude - Tuesday, May 17, 22 @ 4:51 pm:
C….I honestly believe that Baily’s campaign actually doesn’t know how to win.
He is simply trying to get all of downstate Republicans but I would argue this ad helps Irvin in the suburbs.