Former Congresswoman, Former Democrat Tulsi Gabbard Stumps for Bailey in Suburbs
Former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, who recently left the Democratic Party, speaks at a rally for GOP gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey in suburban Glen Ellyn Monday. (Photo: Chicago Sun-Times)
Former Democratic Hawaii congresswoman and presidential candidate, Tulsi Gabbard, who publicly left the party in recent weeks, stumped for Republican gubernatorial candidate Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia) in the suburbs Monday.
Speaking in suburban Glen Ellyn on Halloween night, Gabbard said it makes sense for a former Democrat to support a Republican.
“It only doesn’t make sense if you’re focused on the wrong things,” said Gabbard, the 41-year-old former Army Lt. Colonel who served four terms in the House. “Don’t limit yourselves to only speaking to people who agree with you. We’re not just fighting for half the country, we’re not just fighting for half of Illinois. If we’re not willing to fight for those who disagree with us, then we’re no better than the other guys.”
In a roughly 10-minute stump speech, Bailey repeated many of his often-used themes, including rising crime in the city of Chicago.
“We’re living a nightmare,” Bailey said, citing crime statistics. “We have a mess on our hands and we have the opportunity of a lifetime to restore this state for our children and our grandchildren. They deserve it.”
Bailey once again called for repeal of the so-called SAFE-T Act, which, in part, eliminates Illinois’ cash bail system on January 1.
“Illinois is lost. JB Pritzker is lost. We’ve hired two back to back billionaire governors who have failed us, because we’ve put all of our trust in a person,” Bailey said. “The future and salvation of Illinois is with anyone who wants to stand beside me and fix this.”
Bailey has been dramatically outspent by billionaire Gov. JB Pritzker, but his campaign insists the race is closer in their polling than most public polls. A WGN-TV poll last week showed Bailey trailing Pritzker by 9 percentage points.