EAST PEORIA, Ill. – The leader of the Republican National Committee told GOP leaders in central Illinois how to replicate national success in Illinois.
Chairman Michael Whatley was the keynote speaker at Thursday night’s Peoria and Tazewell Counties Lincoln Day Dinner. It continues a string of nationally-known political figures speaking that includes Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and House Speaker Mike Johnson.
Whatley began his half-hour speech by noting the difficulties of being a Republican in Illinois and Washington, D.C. In Illinois, both United States Senators are Democrats, while only 3 of 17 House seats are under Republican control.
In the 2024 elections, Whatley reminded the crowd that Republicans won all the forecasted swing states and the popular vote to put President Trump back in the White House. But he noted that the vote to do so was close across the board. Whatley says a sense of urgency by Trump and going on the attack each day helped his message and win over votes.
Other reasons Whatley credited for the victories included simplifying their message and not catering it to specific groups, delivering that message to minority media outlets, and going into large cities that Republicans typically write off.
Whatley says some of those things done to help win the Presidential election, House, and Senate in 2024 can apply locally. But he says, overall, it’s a simple formula.
“Great candidates running great races, getting out the vote, and protecting the ballot,” Whatley said. “We need to win here.”
Whatley says they knew of millions of people that were either not registered to vote, or just stopped voting in elections, and worked to get them to vote. He was also part of a team that filed more than 150 lawsuits during the election cycle, with a majority of them for voter integrity.
For Whatley, protecting the ballot and voter integrity is vital. He believes an expected red wave did not happen in 2022 because some people did not believe their ballot would be counted fairly. Whatley says they wanted to send a message to Democrats in more recent elections that they will be prosecuted if they attempt to cheat in elections.
Finding top-notch candidates on a local level is another aspect Whatley believes can turn an area from blue to red. He says that includes finding good candidates for mayor, city councils, and school boards.
