With less than three months to go until the June primary election, the GOP candidates for statewide office have made a concerted effort to stay out of the public eye. At the top of the ticket, most of the Republican gubernatorial candidates have participated in fewer than 10 forums so far, with one candidate skipping every single public debate: Richard Irvin.
By this point in 2018, Gov. JB Pritzker had already participated in more than 30 public forums and debates to field questions from voters and reporters. However, despite being in the race for months, Irvin and the Rauner Reboot slate have continued to dodge debates and duck important questions like whether they support the minimum wage, if they voted for Donald Trump, whether they’ve voted for tax increases, and if they believe the January 6 insurrection was “legitimate political discourse.”
Irvin has shown he isn’t shy when it comes to doing friendly national interviews that never ask about his policy views, but he has continued to dodge local journalists and public forums. According to Politico, Irvin “so far seems more comfortable packaging his message in TV ads” than being honest about his record with Illinois voters and reporters.
It’s time for Irvin and the rest of Ken Griffin’s handpicked slate to finally be honest about who they are and the positions they hold — Illinoisans deserve nothing less.
###
