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* Shot…
U.S. Representative Mike Bost (IL-12) formally announced the launch of his reelection campaign at a meet-and-greet with supporters in White County on Saturday.
“Joe Biden and the crazy liberals in Congress are attempting to fundamentally change our way of life. Their woke, radical agenda is causing chaos with our economy, confusion in our schools, and a crisis at our southern border,” said Bost. “I’m honored to run for reelection because Southern Illinoisans deserve a fighter they know and trust to stand up for constitutional conservative values. We’ve got enough show horses in Washington as it is; that’s why I remain laser focused on serving the people and delivering real results for Southern Illinois, the place I’ve proudly called home my entire life.”
During his time in Congress, Bost has compiled a proven, conservative record, previously receiving endorsements from the NRA’s Political Victory Fund, Illinois Right to Life, and Illinois Farm Bureau. He was also endorsed by President Donald Trump the last three election cycles. Bost served as a state representative, small business owner, professional firefighter, and is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran.
* Chaser via a Mark Maxwell tweet last night…
ILGOP failed ‘22 nominee for governor Darren Bailey has a front row seat reserved to hear Donald Trump on the day of his arraignment, according to this picture taken at Bedminster. He’s tracking as close to Trump as he can ahead of an expected 2024 run vs. Mike Bost for Congress.
Pic from Politico this morning…
* Dessert from the guy who endured a 15-point thumping at the hands of Mary Miller…
Ex-US Rep Rodney Davis reacts to Bailey sighting at Bedminster: “He’s wasting his time. Love it.” https://t.co/4NZFVJsHT6
— Mark Maxwell (@MarkMaxwellTV) June 14, 2023
Make no mistake, this is gonna be a hot one.
posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Jun 14, 23 @ 9:03 am
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Can everybody lose? I mean, the nation obviously will, but…
Comment by Arsenal Wednesday, Jun 14, 23 @ 9:15 am
Davis is obviously wrong about Bailey wasting his time, and Davis himself is the evidence. But Davis also had some pretty clear and legible breaks with Trump. I’m still not sure what Bost has done to attract this primary, other than “not being Darren Bailey.” A raw ambition primary might play out differently than one with an easily communicable hook like Davis’ Jan 6 commission vote.
Comment by vern Wednesday, Jun 14, 23 @ 9:16 am
Basically everything that needs to be said or done to win a GOP primary is automatically disqualifying for a general election. The battle is to see who is going to be a bigger sycophant, or who is going to crack down on disfavored minorities the most.
Comment by Homebody Wednesday, Jun 14, 23 @ 9:21 am
===automatically disqualifying for a general election===
Not in that district.
Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Jun 14, 23 @ 9:22 am
===Their woke, radical agenda is causing chaos with our economy, confusion in our schools, and a crisis at our southern border===
He certainly has the GOP script memorized. Every politician with the word “woke” dribbling from their lips should be made to say exactly what they mean by that. Because what it basically means is, “I think marginalized people should be crushed.”
===constitutional conservative values===
What does that even mean? There is the Constitution. There are “conservative values” (such as they are). The two are not the same. I mean Illinois’ last conservative governor literally tried to bankrupt the state. Where is that in the Constitution? And that’s just one example.
Comment by Nick Name Wednesday, Jun 14, 23 @ 9:22 am
Would be interesting to see a race with a rational candidate in the mix… but this is just an embarrassment to those of us that aren’t small-minded. May the least terrible candidate win.
Comment by Squirrel Wednesday, Jun 14, 23 @ 9:25 am
== Not in that district. ==
Fair point. I meant more in terms of just attracting voters from outside your base in general, I wasn’t thinking in terms of the specific district or specific elections.
Comment by Homebody Wednesday, Jun 14, 23 @ 9:34 am
Love it when they eat their own. More popcorn
Comment by Joe Bidenopolous Wednesday, Jun 14, 23 @ 9:35 am
Maybe after he loses this race he can run for President of the New Confederacy. Just go away already.
Comment by Trap Wednesday, Jun 14, 23 @ 9:35 am
It’ll be a race to the bottom with shovels in hand, so when they get there they can keep digging lower.
Comment by The Truth Wednesday, Jun 14, 23 @ 9:36 am
This time two years ago I had a lot of my downstate Republican friends telling me Rodney Davis would win because he really worked his district, while Miller had little else but a MAGA social media presence. We saw how that turned out. Bost is more Trumpy than Davis, but I suspect that won’t be enough against Bailey.
Comment by Roman Wednesday, Jun 14, 23 @ 9:41 am
Rodney Davis couldn’t be more wrong. He of all people should know that it’s no longer the GOP but the party of Trump.
The race will come down to who Trump wants and the contest will be to see who can be the Trumpiest. Who will be the loudest, proudest, and most loyal in their support of the former President. And the Trumpiest candidate will win. Sad but that’s where we’re at.
Comment by Pundent Wednesday, Jun 14, 23 @ 9:42 am
===Love it when they eat their own. More popcorn===
FYI Rep. Willis & Rep. Zalewski may disagree with your comment.
Comment by Nagidam Wednesday, Jun 14, 23 @ 9:42 am
“Not in that district” is so true. Tweedledum and Tweedledee are the choices.
Comment by Norseman Wednesday, Jun 14, 23 @ 9:45 am
Bost isn’t Davis.
This will be tough but not sure where Trump sees the bigger benefit to help himself with Bost or Bailey? With Don it’s always what can be brought to his own deal. Mary was better for Don than Rodney.
Other question is if Bailey’s wife runs vs Plummer there will be lots of overlap in her campaign with the name flying all over the district. Name ID for voters is key. They know Bost but they also know Bailey, coming off Gov’s race and they’ll see double the fun in the Bailey name and lit in a good chunk of the district.
Comment by Frida's Boss Wednesday, Jun 14, 23 @ 10:06 am
$174,000 per year in salary plus healthcare and pension if you can win three times is a helluva carrot for people who will get nothing done as they will be backbenchers.
But hey, gubermint is the problem! So I need to profit off of it!
Comment by Save Ferris Wednesday, Jun 14, 23 @ 10:18 am
“Their woke, radical agenda”
Not much difference between Republicans these days, a common denominator being using the talking point “woke” to attack Democrats. Many ask what woke means. Woke is not really supposed have a specific meaning, but be a blank slate upon which people project their individual hatred and fear of minorities and the struggle for equality.
“is causing chaos with our economy”
The economy is pretty strong, with job growth, the stock market and inflation having substantially decreased. “Thanks, Brandon.”
Comment by Grandson of Man Wednesday, Jun 14, 23 @ 10:39 am
==FYI Rep. Willis & Rep. Zalewski may disagree with your comment.==
Probably not, they just don’t like it when Democrats do it.
Comment by Arsenal Wednesday, Jun 14, 23 @ 10:53 am
The Mike Bost I knew 17 years ago would be disgusted and appalled by this Mike Bost.
Comment by Concerned Observer Wednesday, Jun 14, 23 @ 10:54 am
On the surface, Trump & his people would prefer Darren Bailey primaried Darin LaHood given LaHood clearly leaning toward FL Governor Ron DeSantis for POTUS.
Reality, LaHood has over 10x more money in the bank as of end of March compared to Mike Bost & Bailey thinking Bost more within reach.
Hope Bost has an excellent 2nd Quarter fundraising when he reports his numbers next month.
My guess, Bailey won’t file FEC paperwork until after July 1st so won’t see fundraising numbers until mid October.
Heh Heh, Bailey’s Financial Disclosure filing under the Ethics in Government Act should be an interesting read, and is far more invasive then the IL Economic Interest Statements he’s used to filing.
Comment by John Lopez Wednesday, Jun 14, 23 @ 10:54 am
Big time farmers sure do seem to have plenty of time to waste. Hope he had fun.
Comment by Excitable Boy Wednesday, Jun 14, 23 @ 11:04 am
==What does that even mean?==
It means taking photos with vets on veterans day while not voting for the burn pit act.
It won’t matter for Bost.12 is the flip side of gerrymandering: a “packed” red district.
Comment by Twitter cat lady Wednesday, Jun 14, 23 @ 11:07 am
Not surprised one bit. It’s pretty interesting to see pretty staunch right wingers like Bost have to move further to the right due to potential primary challengers. My predication is if Bailey runs he’ll in. Not sure if he’ll get a Trump endorsement but Mary Miller will campaign for him. That definitely increases the chances of a Trump endorsement.
Kind of an aside but what are the chances that Illinois becomes some sort of Trump vs. Desantis battleground?
Comment by ML from IL Wednesday, Jun 14, 23 @ 11:09 am
Having worked on a campaign years ago against Mike Bost, I wouldn’t underestimate him at all.
Comment by So_Ill Wednesday, Jun 14, 23 @ 11:19 am
The challenge that Bost will have is that he’s been around long enough to find instances where his positions haven’t always been at the extreme. I’m sure there are examples of his cooperation with Democrats over the years and Bailey will pounce on that. He’ll turn it into a litmus test of who’s the real conservative. And being in the front row at Bedminster only adds to the narrative.
Comment by Pundent Wednesday, Jun 14, 23 @ 11:22 am
Davis was a fool to not run in CD 15 against Budzinski. He would have made that race closer and possibly eked out a win, just like all his previous CD15 races….he was toast against MM from jump in the redrawn CD
Comment by Gordon Willis Wednesday, Jun 14, 23 @ 11:33 am
Bost and Bailey. Two politicians that deserve one another
Comment by Karma Wednesday, Jun 14, 23 @ 11:34 am
=he was toast against MM from jump in the redrawn CD=
I think the conventional wisdom was that the map was drawn to favor Davis and that somehow running against Miller was a gift. But things went south in the GOP very quickly and loyalty “Trumped” (pun intended) everything else.
Comment by Pundent Wednesday, Jun 14, 23 @ 11:42 am
Where will Richard Uihlein put his money?
Comment by don the legend Wednesday, Jun 14, 23 @ 11:44 am
No, Rodney was a fool not to run for governor. He almost certainly got begged by McCarthy to run for re-election because of his knowledge of congressional procedure and/or he got promised house administration committee chair.
Comment by Lake villa township dem PC Wednesday, Jun 14, 23 @ 12:03 pm
Mike Bost illegally discharged a firearm while shooting a caged dog that belonged to someone else. I the simplest of terms, he used a gun in the commission of a crime and as such should no longer own or possess firearms.
I a time frame where these two hamloafs try to out Trump each other there is traditionally conservative case to be made against Mike Bost, on this and number of other issues. Unfortunately for Darren Bailey, he probably is incapable of bringing someone on board who would be able to both run an “out Trump” campaign and paint Mike Bost as an irresponsible gun owner, a criminal, that relied on his political influence to avoid criminal charges.
Comment by Candy Dogood Wednesday, Jun 14, 23 @ 12:03 pm
=Unfortunately for Darren Bailey, he probably is incapable of bringing someone on board who would be able to both run an “out Trump” campaign and paint Mike Bost as an irresponsible gun owner, a criminal, that relied on his political influence to avoid criminal charges.=
A debate over shooting a dog vs. shooting the budget might be deemed a draw in this district. And it’s only an issue if the voters see it that way and I’m not so sure that would be the case.
This race like many of the solid red races will be a test of loyalty and purity. It’s a bit of a musical chairs exercise as it is inevitable that at some point candidates will cut ties with Trump. And when that happens you’ll likely see a whole bunch of cognitive dissonance. I just don’t know where that is on the horizon.
Comment by Pundent Wednesday, Jun 14, 23 @ 12:22 pm
=== Mike Bost illegally discharged a firearm while shooting a caged dog that belonged to someone else. ===
He was acquitted by a jury. And that is Bost in a nutshell.
The GOP is not a monolith, and Republicans in Little Egypt are different from The Eastern Bloc, which is different from Sangamon County, and so on.
The differences are subtle, but Bost fits the region so perfectly and has for 30 years. Darren Bailey sticks out like a curmudgeon.
Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Wednesday, Jun 14, 23 @ 12:50 pm
Call everyone that has run against Mike Bost for the last 40 years and ask them how it worked out. Their answer? Poorly.
Comment by Chicago Republican Wednesday, Jun 14, 23 @ 1:09 pm
=Call everyone that has run against Mike Bost for the last 40 years and ask them how it worked out.=
I recall similar sentiment towards Rodney Davis. But something has changed in the last few years that throws history out the window. If only I could put my finger on it.
Comment by Pundent Wednesday, Jun 14, 23 @ 2:13 pm
===The GOP is not a monolith===
LOL
Comment by Walter Wednesday, Jun 14, 23 @ 2:16 pm
=Candy Dogwood=
Just stop. The dog in question attacked and severely injured Bost’s toddler child. The dog had repeated attack offenses.
Bost was acquitted by a Jury of his peers of committing any crime.
Have you ever been to Murphysboro, IL? He gets points deducted for not shooting the dogs owner.
Comment by Um, No Wednesday, Jun 14, 23 @ 2:34 pm