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 On Monday, June 20th three such
candidates made a visit to Lincoln, playing to an enthusiastic group
of supporters gathered at the Oasis Senior Center.
The candidates on hand included Darren Bailey running for the
gubernatorial nomination and Thomas Devore seeking nomination as the
candidate on the ballot for the Illinois Attorney General. The third
person on hand was Mary Miller, seeking nomination to be the
candidate running for the United States House of Representatives for
the new 15th District.
The first person to speak at the Monday meeting was candidate Mary
Miller. Miller is an incumbent in her old district, and is now
running against Rodney Davis in the newly formed 15th District of
the United States House of Representatives. The new district was
formed after the results of the latest census were published. Many
Republicans say that the mapping was done to give weight to democrat
voters and put republican voters and candidates a disadvantage at
the polls. Miller supports that theory saying that the new district
is gerrymandered.
Miller and her husband Chris are farmers in Coles County. She lives
in a rural setting close to Oakland, a small town north of
Charleston. She said the couple raises “corn, cattle and ‘kids,’
with seven children. We just welcomed our 19th grandchild.” She said
that she was a great supporter of former President Donald Trump and
had teased him once that she had provided him with the most votes
from any one family.
Miller spoke about her achievements as an incumbent and condemned
Rodney Davis for his poor voting record on conservative issues. She
referred to Davis as “RINO Rodney” (Republican in name only) saying
that he had told many untruths about her in an effort to distract
from his own poor record as a conservative republican.
She said that she wants to support military and police and border
control. She referred to Davis as a “passive place holder” and said
that the people of Illinois need bold fighters in the House of
Representatives.
Miller spoke on for several minutes offering comparison between
herself and Davis and making every effort to solidify the idea that
she would be a much better candidate on the ballot in November.
Later in the afternoon, Miller left the meeting just before Bailey
finished his address. She was taken to the Veteran Tiny Home project
where she met with recipients of two homes, Scott Jackson, and Dave
and Tecia Hennessey.
While there she told Jackson that in spite of what is being said
about her in the Davis campaign, she was a very strong supporter of
the military and veterans.
Just prior to Bailey speaking, Thomas DeVore, who is
running for Attorney General, spoke. DeVore is running against Steve
Kim and David Shestokas for the Republican nomination. If he wins
the nomination he will face the incumbent Democrat Kwame Raoul.
DeVore spent a good deal of his time at the podium solidifying his
relationship with Darren Bailey. He spoke about the two working
together to fight the mask mandate and then going about the state
speaking to people trying to encourage them and support them during
the coronavirus.
He said that the current administration was saying that they were
working “to keep us safe (from covid),” but he and Bailey had to
pose the question “Who is keeping us safe from you?” He said that
Pritzker was promoting fear among the people to his benefit, but
when Bailey and DeVore won the ruling regarding the mask mandates,
people did not die.
He said that his role as the attorney general was to protect the
people from those who would do harm, including the politicians both
Republican and Democrat. [to
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 He also said that the upcoming
primary was perhaps the most important vote we will make in our
lives. He recounted speaking to his three children who are all
voting age and echoing that comment to them. He asked them who they
would support for governor and they had replied that in their eyes,
the only one who had ever stood with their father was Darren Bailey,
and Bailey had earned their respect and their vote.
DeVore then introduced “Your next Governor for the
State of Illinois, Darren Bailey.”
On the primary ballot for governor are six people on the Republican
ticket and two on the Democrat Ticket.
Republican Darren Bailey is running against Paul Schimpf, Richard
Irvin, Gary Rabine, Max Solomon and Jesse Sullivan. Democrat
candidates include incumbent JB Pritzker and Beverly Miles. Bailey’s
speech and campaign advertising over the past several months reflect
that his only concerns among all the republicans is Richard Irvin.
On the Democrat side, he appears to be assuming that Pritzker will
win the democratic nomination.
On Monday, Bailey was scheduled to be in Lincoln at 1:30 p.m. but
arrived 35 minutes late. He apologized profusely but said that the
bus had made a stop and he had been approached by supporters who
wished to speak with him. Though it was not on his schedule he had
taken the time to hear from his future constituents.
Much of the time he spent addressing the Oasis gathering was used
taking counter measures to belie comments and claims being made by
Irvin and speaking about the terrible condition the state is in
thanks to the Pritzker administration.
During the course of the afternoon, Irvin was referred to as
“Democrat Dick” and Bailey talked up his belief that Irvine is not a
true conservative Republican and that he will not work in the best
interest of the people.
Bailey also talked about what is going to happen in the future if
Pritzker remains in office. He says the state is in terrible
financial condition, and inflation is choking the people of Illinois
because of Pritzker’s outrageous spending.
He and others who spoke that day said that under the Pritzker
administration citizens can expect inflation to continue to rise,
they can expect terrible issues with energy supplies, and should be
prepared for blackouts and brownouts from electric suppliers. He
also warned of fuel rationing on the horizon.
Bailey spoke about his personal decisions to run for governor saying
he was not a politician, did not like politicians and never really
intended to get involved in government. However, a dissatisfaction
with local government had led him to voice some complaints and
concerns publicly and before he knew it he was in the running for a
government position in the general assembly.
He recalled as a government representative taking on Pritzker in the
Covid mask mandates and winning. He said that no government official
or school official should supersede the decisions of parents when it
came to having a child wear a face mask.
He said that he wants to give the people of Illinois what they
desire, “The people of Illinois are desiring hope. The people of
Illinois are desiring safe streets. The people of Illinois are
desiring proper education. The people of Illinois are desiring less
of a burden.”
Bailey made a point of acknowledging the veterans in the room and
said they had signed up to serve and to protect freedom, “but what
good is that if we give away our freedoms?”
Bailey also asked that everyone in the room go out and promote
voting in the election among their friends and neighbors. He
encouraged guests to obtain voting records for the county and see
whose names are missing of people they know then go talk to those
people about the primary and the upcoming election and encourage
them to exercise their freedom of choice.
The General Primary Election will be held on Tuesday, June 28th.
Lincoln Daily News provides a link to election information from the
County Clerk as well as a collection of stories, press releases and
letters of support on the topic of the primary election.
Follow the links to see sample ballots, polling places, and
information about the candidates.
Logan Count Clerk Election Information – link
Where they Stand – link
NOTE: Lincoln
Daily News offers equal coverage of all candidates visiting the
county when made aware and able to attend visits, and does not
endorse any of the candidates running for public office.
[Nila Smith] |
