Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner has been named the “worst Republican governor in America” by the National Review.
Gracing the December cover of the conservative publication, Rauner is criticized for what the author cites as a number of betrayals and defeats.
“The governor’s offense was to have signed what may be America’s most radical abortion-funding law after vowing to veto it,” John Miller wrote. “The betrayal capped a season of defeats for conservatives, including an income-tax hike, a big bailout of Chicago’s public schools, and turning Illinois into what critics of illegal immigration are calling a ‘sanctuary state.’”
Rauner in October announced plans to run for re-election in 2018.
"They said it couldn’t be done, that it was crazy to think this place could be saved, that we should give up, give in and resign our hopes and dreams to a corrupt culture of permanent political failure," Rauner says at the start of his announcement. "The Madigan machine is just too strong, they say. It will never go away, it will never fail to fail us. It’s time to just accept corruption and staggnation as not only what we have but who we are. Well, I say we can’t and we won’t."
But Rauner will face stiff competition in the upcoming race.
State Rep. Jeanne Ives has been circulating petitions to take on the incumbent in the Republican primary, along with a number of Democratic challengers.
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According to an October report by Governing Magazine, Illinois’ gubernatorial race is “leaning Democratic” as Ruaner seeks a second term in office.
That same publication correctly predicted that Rauner would beat incumbent Governor Pat Quinn when he was elected in 2014, calling the election as a “leaning Republican” race when they conducted rankings that year.
According to polls conducted over the summer, 40 percent of Illinois voters approve of the job that Rauner has done, compared to 49 percent that disapprove of his job performance.
Rauner’s office did not respond to a request for comment on the National Review article.
