Former Attorney General Candidate Thomas Devore says the Republicans need to learn from the Democrats if they are going to be able to win statewide elections.
Devore told those at the Republican Lincoln Day Dinner over the weekend those who are already voting Republican in the Presidential year have to be convinced to participate in the off year election where the Governor and other statewide officers are elected.
“We’re going to be like Texas, and we’re going to be like Florida, and we’re going to go into counties like yours and raise the vote totals, so when we finally get to Chicago, they can’t overwhelm us anymore. How many do we need here? About 1300. You’ve got 2500 that vote half the time. They’re just not voting in the mid-term.”
Devore says Democrats have learned to find those non-voters in the off year election and sign them up for vote by mail. He says that’s why right now 75-percent of vote by mail are Democratic votes. Devore says while the Republican’s don’t have Governor Pritzker’s money, they do have the grassroots precinct committeemen to work on better voter turnout.
Devore was critical of the Republican leadership in the party and their inability to resolve the party’s problems in electing statewide candidates while seeing fewer Republicans elected to the house and senate. The party right now is in the super minority in both the house and senate and holding no elected statewide offices.
