Irvin Campaign Pulling Downstate TV Ads Next Week
The campaign of GOP gubernatorial candidate Richard Irvin is pulling TV ads downstate beginning next week. Experts are split on the meaning of the move two weeks before the primary election.
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Sources confirm the campaign of Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin, who is running for the GOP nomination for Governor, has pulled all broadcast TV ads in downstate Illinois beginning next week.
Some GOP insiders tell us the move likely indicates one of two things: either they’re changing their message at the last minute or billionaire Ken Griffin won’t be coming through with additional money before the primary.
“They’re admitting Bailey is surging in the polls,” a longtime GOP operative said of the move. “So, they have to believe they need to change up their marketing for the final stretch.”
The operative says to expect a more conservative message for the final two weeks.
“They’ll focus on red meat that doesn’t hurt them in the general,” the operative said. “Inflation is the number one issue right now and it has overtaken crime, so they’d be smart to talk about that.”
Irvin and team have made crime the top issue of their campaign along with attacks on conservative downstate Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia) and venture capitalist Jesse Sullivan, trying to argue the two are actually Democrats. Irvin, though, is the candidate that has voted Democrat in 5 of the last 6 primary elections.
“I think a lot of people [down here] are just turned off to [Irvin] because of all of the blatant lies he’s been telling,” one uncommitted downstate lawmaker said.
A different Republican operative says if Irvin is pulling back, it could spell bad news for the GOP in November.
“Once again, Republicans are engaging in a circular firing squad to kill off their only chance to beat Pritzker and finance down ticket races. Now the wave will skip Illinois," the GOP insider said. “Bailey is delusional and not enough Republicans will call him out on it. There’s still time to save this, but there are only a few seconds left on the clock.”
It is possible the Irvin camp believes it can win without spending additional dollars on television downstate, as 52% of voters in the 2018 GOP gubernatorial primary came from the 11 counties that make up the Chicago TV market.
Another theory is that Irvin’s campaign is out of money and billionaire Ken Griffin, Irvin’s benefactor to the tune of $50 million, won’t come through with any additional money.
“Anytime you pull TV, it isn’t strategic, it’s financial,” said another GOP operative. “If money wasn’t an object, wouldn’t you keep ads rolling downstate?”
A spokesperson for the Irvin campaign did not return a message from The Illinoize Wednesday night.