MILWAUKEE — Hours before former President Donald Trump accepted the GOP nomination, Illinois Republicans on Thursday claimed the “the table has been flipped” on Democrats who head toward the Nov. 5 election with uncertainty at the top of the ticket while the GOP builds momentum.
The state’s super-minority Republicans are leaving the GOP National Convention energized, and with a lot of confidence, which they claim will help them win more seats in the state — despite a redistricting lockout and a severe lack of high-profile donors.
Still, U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood, R-Ill., told state delegates at their final RNC breakfast program at a suburban Milwaukee hotel that the tide turned most dramatically after President Biden’s dismal debate showing last month, as calls grow from within the incumbent’s own party to drop out.
“I’ve never seen Democrats so despondent, so sad,” LaHood said. “I actually felt so sorry for a Democrat. I thought about hugging one that week. I didn’t do it, but it’s nice for a change that the table has been flipped. And make no mistake about it: Democrats are in a free fall right now.”
Meanwhile, LaHood said he’s “never seen so much unity, so much optimism, so much energy in our Republican Party. It is palpable every single day.”
He pointed to a “much more focused, disciplined” Trump after his assassination attempt.
“We saw that in the debate prep. We saw it in the vice presidential pick, and we’ve seen it with this convention,” he said.
LaHood credited Trump advisers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles for “keeping him on track, starting in the primary system.”
A bust of former President Donald Trump, made from cheese, on display as U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood speaks during the Illinois delegation breakfast at the Comfort Suites Milwaukee Airport hotel in Oak Creek, Wisconsin on Thursday, the fourth and final day of the 2024 Republican National Convention.
Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
“I think this is a much different President Trump in terms of listening to advisers around him and focusing on what’s important,” LaHood said. “And I think that’s been extremely beneficial.”
The Democratic uncertainty has been a focal point for Republicans, as they tried to draw a stark contrast between the two parties. Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s political ambitions drew some boos at the state’s delegation breakfast.
“The Democrats are in a full-blown civil war,” Ohio U.S. Senate candidate Bernie Moreno said. “Think about this for a second now. One hundred and 10 days away from this election, we don’t even know who President Trump and JD Vance is going to run against. We have no idea. It could be your governor.”
Delegates booed, with some screaming “no” and others laughing.
The Pritzker bashing continued after the breakfast, with LaHood telling reporters, “I think if Gov. Pritzker didn’t have a billion dollars, he wouldn’t be in office right now.”
“But for his money is the only reason why he’s been in office. I don’t think many people outside of his media window, bubble, pay any attention to Gov. Pritzker,” he said.
Pritzker’s team shot back at LaHood’s remarks.
“While Darin LaHood is in Milwaukee backing Trump and his plans to ban abortion nationwide, Gov. Pritzker has been banning junk health insurance plans, creating the jobs of the future, and investing in Illinois’ infrastructure,” spokeswoman Christina Amestoy said.
The Democratic governor, who is a key Biden campaign surrogate, also on Thursday said the president is “apparently going to be our nominee” — signaling a shift in tone from previous messages of support.
“He’s chosen to be our nominee,” Pritzker said in Decatur. “And so we’ve got to win because the alternative is unacceptable.”
U.S. Rep Mike Bost said “it will be very hard to sell” if Democrats don’t select Vice President Kamala Harris to lead the ticket should Biden drop out.
“The question is, I believe that they have no choice but to go to the vice president if that is the process that they use,” Bost said. “But I’m gonna also say this. I don’t care which one they put up. Right now, Donald Trump is going to beat them. Donald Trump is going to beat them.”
Ahead of Trump’s prime-time address, Chicago GOP alternate delegate Lynn Franco said she was looking forward to Trump “finishing his job of draining the swamp.”
“America is not lost. It can’t be destroyed from outside. It can only be destroyed on the inside, and this is what the left has done,” Franco said. “Donald Trump has ensured the American people he’s still standing, he’s still strong, his message is even clearer.”
John Shaw, an alternate delegate from Aurora, said he thinks Trump “is a changed man” after last weekend’s assassination attempt.
“He’s probably strengthened by the event,” Shaw said. “The American public, the forgotten man — he has their interests at heart.”