Illinois GOP Chairman: Metro East power brokers select insider candidate

Pat Brady, Chairman of the Illinois Republican Party, issued the following statement on Illinois Democrats selecting Bill Enyart to fill the vacancy on the ballot in the 12^th Congressional District, citing it as another example of Metro East Insiders ignoring the voters of Southern Illinois:

“With the way the votes are distributed in the district, a few Democrat power brokers from the Metro East are able to select their candidates without considering the voters from the rest of the southern counties,” Brady said. 

“We saw this happen in the early 2000s when David Phelps was redistricted out of a seat, and unfortunately history is repeating itself with their selection of Mr. Enyart,” Brady added. “There are many quality candidates that don’t live in the Metro East who do not receive the opportunity to run for higher office.”

“Residents of the 12th District are fortunate to have Jason Plummer as their candidate. Jason has consistently met with and reached out to voters from each of the district’s counties. Over the last few weeks, he has held townhall forums in both Jackson and Pulaski Counties, giving a voice to the downstate voters that the Democrats continue to ignore.”

“Southern Illinoisians should be fed up with the Metro East Democrats’ continually closed-door process, and support Jason Plummer, the candidate that will represent the entire district.”