Good morning, Chicago.
The last time Republicans gathered for a full convention, they were plagued by internal division and fear. Morale was near rock bottom. And the party’s presidential nominee showed little desire, or capacity, to add new voters to his political coalition.
What a difference eight years make.
The Republican officials, strategists and activists who packed Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention last week expressed a collective confidence at levels not seen in decades. Boos and infighting marred Donald Trump’s first convention in 2016, but this one was defined by overwhelming displays of unity as GOP leaders — Trump skeptics among them — reveled in what most view as an all but certain victory come November.
Here’s a look back at what happened at the convention, its impact on Illinois and what’s ahead with the Democratic National Convention in Chicago next month.
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Trump holds first campaign rally after assassination attempt with his new running mate, JD Vance, by his side
Donald Trump held his first campaign rally since he survived an assassination attempt Saturday, returning to the battleground state of Michigan alongside his newly named running mate.
Trump urges unity after assassination attempt while proposing sweeping populist agenda in RNC finale
Donald Trump, somber and bandaged, accepted the GOP presidential nomination on Thursday at the Republican National Convention in a speech that described in detail the assassination attempt that could have ended his life just five days earlier before laying out a sweeping populist agenda, particularly on immigration.
The 78-year-old former president, known best for his bombast and aggressive rhetoric, began his acceptance speech with a softer and deeply personal message that drew directly from his brush with death. Moment by moment, the crowd listening in silence, Trump described standing onstage in Butler, Pennsylvania, with his head turned to look at a chart on display when he felt something hit his ear. He raised his hand to his head and saw immediately that it was covered in blood.
“If I had not moved my head at that very last instant, the assassin’s bullet would have perfectly hit its mark,” Trump said. “And I would not be here tonight. We would not be together.”
US Rep. Mary Miller, who at RNC says media has ‘demonized Trump,’ symbolizes rightward shift of Illinois GOP
Mary Miller, who led Illinois’ 64-member delegation at the GOP’s national presidential nominating convention, on Tuesday blamed former President Donald Trump’s low standing in Illinois on the news media and said that if gun owners in the solidly blue state showed up to vote Republicans could “flip the state red.”
Miller, 64, symbolizes the new leadership of an Illinois Republican Party moving ever rightward in deference to Trump. Voted by her fellow state delegates to take the lead role in Milwaukee, her unwavering support of the former president, including a visit to his “hush money” trial in New York, puts her in politically good stead If he wins the presidency and the GOP maintains control of the House.
All three Republicans in Illinois 17-member congressional delegation are backing Trump but Miller has worked hard to court his support and he has called her a hard worker and an “America First Conservative” in backing her for Congress.
Who is JD Vance? What to know about Donald Trump’s pick for vice president.
Former President Donald Trump on Monday chose U.S. Sen. JD Vance of Ohio to be his running mate as he looks to return to the White House.
Here are some things to know about Vance, a 39-year-old Republican now in his first term in the Senate.
Illinois delegates in Milwaukee say JD Vance ‘will bring a lot of energy’ to GOP ticket
llinois delegates to the Republican National Convention on Monday said former President Donald Trump’s choice of U.S. Sen. JD Vance of Ohio as his running mate provides another shot of adrenaline to an already energized campaign while also giving a boost to the GOP ticket in a key Midwestern state.
“He understands the Beltway, so he brings a lot of that knowledge with him. But he hasn’t been there for so long that he’s jaded,” Travis Akin, a convention delegate from downstate Illinois, said from the floor of Fiserv Forum following the announcement of Vance’s selection. “I think he will bring a lot of energy.”
Donald Johnson, a delegate and a pastor from Rock Island, used a biblical reference to express his enthusiasm for Vance — while also acknowledging the political element of the selection.
“He is to the president what Joshua was to Moses. So the thing is, as long as you’ve got a Joshua you’ve still got a Moses,” Johnson said. “Plus, we need Ohio.”
Black Republican leaders at RNC try to make inroads with African American voters
After watching African American voters routinely support their opponents for generations, Black Republican leaders gathering last week in Milwaukee for the GOP’s national convention said they are beginning to see cracks in the Democratic dominance.
One group trying to drive the wedge politically is being led by Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin, who two years ago unsuccessfully ran to be the Republican Party nominee for governor. On Tuesday, Irvin, who is chairman of the Black Republican Mayors Association, huddled in Milwaukee with GOP mayors, delegates and members of Congress from across the nation to discuss how best to attract Black voters to vote for Republican candidates.
“We give a conservative voice to Black voters across the country,” Irvin said. “The Black vote is how (President) Joe Biden eked out his win four years ago and so if that same Black vote decides that Biden hasn’t done what they need to uplift the Black community, that vote goes somewhere else. Guess what? The other team is going to win.”
Rod Blagojevich drops into Milwaukee to tout Trump. Illinois GOP left unenthused.
After speaking at a Serbs for Trump rally at a downtown bar, ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich acknowledged his conversion from a leading Illinois Democrat to a self-described “Trumpocrat” has been as much personal as political.
“I feel the profound sense of gratitude, debt of gratitude, to President Trump for what he did. Restored my freedom. Reunited with my family. Gave my little girls their father back,” Blagojevich said, referring to then-President Donald Trump’s 2020 decision to commute the former governor’s 14-year prison sentence on federal corruption charges.
“So putting the personal aside, which is part of my motivation, I’d be dishonest if I said otherwise, it’s also the fact that the Democratic Party today, as I said, is not the same party I was active in. But the Republican Party isn’t either,” he told the Tribune.
At RNC, Illinois GOP starts looking to 2026 election
U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida was taunting an old Capitol Hill nemesis on the crowded floor of the Republican National Convention when an Illinois Republican Party official with a low profile outside of state GOP circles stepped in.
“Shut up, Gaetz. Don’t be an a–hole,” Illinois Republican National Committeeman Richard Porter said to Gaetz, who was interrupting an interview being given by the man he helped oust as House speaker, former California U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy.
“Dude, I don’t even know who you are, man,” the boisterous congressman said to Porter, who quickly responded, “It doesn’t f—ing matter who I am. Don’t be an a–hole,” before Gaetz walked away.
During last week’s convention, Porter has been among a handful of names floated by some Illinois top Republicans as possible GOP candidates for governor in 2026 as the state party looks to reinvent itself with new leadership after years of losing ground to Democrats.
It won’t be easy for Republicans and they know it. Democrats control all three branches of state government. On the federal level, just three of the state’s 17 congressmen are Republican, and both U.S. senators are Democrats.
Leaving Milwaukee, Illinois RNC delegates say Trump’s economic message should sway voters
Illinois’ Republican delegation left the party’s presidential nomination convention expressing optimism that Donald Trump would regain the presidency in November and hope that some of the messages in his lengthy acceptance speech could win over voters in a state that overwhelmingly rejected the former president in the past two elections.
With Trump’s nomination official and the Democrats in turmoil over questions surrounding President Joe Biden’s ability to lead the ticket just a month ahead of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, the stage could be set for a different kind of election for the Republican nominee than those in 2016 and 2020.
Democrats fight to retain ‘Blue Wall’ following RNC in Milwaukee
Republicans have departed from Milwaukee, but as Democrats prepare to gather in Chicago in four weeks, ostensibly to celebrate the renomination of President Joe Biden at their convention, Wisconsin and much of the Midwest will remain near the center of the political universe as the path to the presidency runs through this state and neighboring Michigan.
On Friday, as speculation continued to swirl about whether Biden would drop out, the White House announced Vice President Kamala Harris would come to Milwaukee on Tuesday for a campaign event, her fifth visit to Wisconsin this year.
While the presidential candidate who carries the state only wins 10 electoral votes, Wisconsin, once a reliably Democratic state, has become a toss-up in the 21st century, with four of the past six presidential elections decided by less than a percentage point. The exceptions were Barack Obama’s nearly 14-point victory in 2008 and his nearly 7-point win four years later.