OAK CREEK, Wis. — Incoming Illinois Republican Party Chair Kathy Salvi on Wednesday encouraged state GOP members to shake off the “blue funk” of deeply Democratic Illinois and “put your whole heart into a fresh new day” for Republicans.
Salvi struck a familiar refrain of unity among Illinois delegates this week at the Republican National Convention, pushing for “culture of collaboration” in a divided state party that is trying to claw its way back to statewide relevance in Illinois.
“I love this party, because sometimes we air our dirty laundry with one another,” Salvi said during her first public address since her election last week as the next party chair. “We need to say, ‘You know, let's give that person the benefit of a fresh new day.’ And that's how we win elections here in Illinois.”
Salvi formally takes the post Friday from outgoing GOP Chair Don Tracy, who cited incessant intraparty squabbling in announcing his resignation last month from the volunteer position.
During her speech at the Illinois delegation’s breakfast program at their hotel outside Milwaukee, Salvi vowed to “build bridges and breach our differences” to win elections.
She joked about “feeling the blue funk” when crossing the border from Illinois to the battleground state of Wisconsin.
“Well, I'll tell you, that blue funk is over. We're gonna make Illinois red again,” Salvi said.
“I promise to foster a spirit and culture of collaboration of communication and a single-minded dedication to winning elections. Expect this open-mindedness, yet faithfulness, to the principles outlined in our Republican platform: less government, lower taxes and more freedom,” she said.
Incoming Illinois Republican Party Chair Kathy Salvi takes a photo with delegates at the Illinois Delegation breakfast in Milwaukee Wednesday.
Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
Salvi said she would also focus on tamping down the escalation of crime, “breaking the pattern of the culture of corruption” and providing cost-of-living relief.
Salvi steered clear of the issues that have split a growing hard-line conservative base of Illinois Republicans and more moderate leaders, including the topic that defined her own failed 2022 Senate run against Sen. Tammy Duckworth: abortion.
“Remember, I was defeated two years ago, and I learned a lot from that election,” Salvi said, while holding up an envelope that read, “election integrity.”
“I pledge to get to the nitty-gritty and to help give the relief to the citizenry of the state and make sure that every honest vote is counted,” Salvi said. “Please join with me to usher in a new era of Republican victories here in Illinois. Republican unity wins in 2024.”
Nor did she spend much time talking about former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee who has proven unpopular in many Chicago suburbs.
Salvi cited crime and the opioid addiction epidemic in igniting “the pathos that we all feel, and it's what's going to drive a very angry electorate to elect Donald J. Trump as president.”
As for abortion rights, Salvi later told reporters that she supports the national Republican party platform that leaves the issue up to states with the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
In addition to her double-digit loss to Duckworth, Salvi lost a 2006 primary bid for a suburban U.S. House seat.
“You learn a lot through a loss, and I've had the privilege of being the Republican nominee once, and I lost the primary once,” she said. “So I think now, at the helm of the Illinois Republican Party, I'll be able to apply all of those lessons I've learned to winning elections.”
To turn the tide for a party that hasn’t won a statewide contest since former Gov. Bruce Rauner a decade ago, Salvi said they need to “renew some energy” with wins at the local and county levels.
According to the chairwoman-elect, that will help attract fundraising dollars from Rauner and other uber-wealthy donors, like billionaire Ken Griffin, who have fled Illinois.
“I will tell every Republican the same thing: You're staying in the boat," Salvi said. "You can put your oar up for a while and let us pedal for you. But I believe that we're going to see a lot of people who believe in Illinois coming back and supporting many of our fine candidates."
Illinois National Republican Committeeman Richard Porter berated the scandal-plagued Florida congressman for trying to embarrass former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy during a television interview.
Former President Donald Trump took his seat inside the arena for the final two hours of the Republican National Convention program — still wearing a bandage on his right ear from Saturday’s assassination attempt at a Pennsylvania rally. He watched, and smiled often, as his former rivals pledged their support.
Meanwhile, a company owned by Donald Trump is now selling $299 sneakers showing an image of his bloodied face as he pumps his fist in the air, as he did after surviving an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), both past opponents of former President Donald Trump, speak on the second day of the convention.
Whether you’re in the Milwaukee area for a massive political convention or maybe a little vacation, here are some places that our Lynn Sweet was told to go check out.
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There is no doubt political violence is a horrific stain on American democracy and assassination an abomination. But when you’ve covered politics on and off as long as I have, and you think you’ve seen or heard it all … you haven’t.
‘Maybe America will come to some awaking that nobody is safe while we allow assault weapons and while we continue to have no common-sense gun laws in this country,’ the Rev. Michael Pfleger told the Sun-Times.
Donald Trump’s defiant response to the shooting has provided “a shot of adrenaline in our arm” for his already fervent followers, Illinois delegate Aaron Del Mar said as the GOP gets ready to kick off the Republican National Convention on Monday.
The image of a bloodied Trump pumping his fist at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, Saturday and mouthing the word “fight” will become one of the iconic photos defining these charged political times.
Democrats had planned daily press conferences to highlight “the grave danger that Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans pose to our democracy, our rights and our livelihoods.” But with images of the shooting still fresh in the voters’ minds, they’re opting to let President Biden lead their response.
What we know so far about the suspected shooter, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. The attack could alter the tenor and security posture at the Republican National Convention, which will begin Monday in Milwaukee.
Addressing the nation about two hours after the shooting, Biden said he was relieved that Trump is reportedly “doing well.” “We cannot allow this to be happening,” Biden said. He pledged to update the public later Saturday.
“I think the hate for Trump is out of hand. It’s out of control. We have to settle down,” Illinois GOP National Committeeman Richard Porter said. Former President Barack Obama urged a pivot away from polarization.
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