The chairman of the Illinois Republican Party says Governor Bruce Rauner’s money is helping the GOP compete in many campaigns where Republicans were not competitive before. Democrats in Springfield hold supermajorities in both the Illinois House and Senate. And Republicans are now targeting several incumbent Democrats to cut down on that supermajority.
The main difference this year: Rauner’s contributed a ton of money - $14 million dollars - from his campaign fund to the state Republican party to help those candidates compete. Tim Schneider is the chairman of the state Republican Party.
"I think, for the first time in many years, we’re finally competing almost at an even level with the Democrats."
Schneider says he doesn’t foresee a compromise between Rauner and House Speaker Michael Madigan any time soon… And the best solution to that stalemate, would be for Republicans to win more House and Senate seats.