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Former Gov. Jim Edgar: Republicans Must Be United

Jim Edgar
Hannah Meisel/WUIS
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  Former Illinois Governor Jim Edgar says he's all in for Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner.

Edgar says the Democratic agenda offers more of the same policies voters have seen for the past decade. He even equated Gov. Pat Quinn's tenure to former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who is now serving a 14-year term in federal prison.

"The Blagojevich-Quinn governorship has been a disaster for Illinois," he said. "We have an opportunity this November to end one-party rule by electing Bruce Rauner the governor of Illinois."

Edgar made the comments at Republican Day at the Illinois state fair Thursday.

Edgar had supported his former chief of staff, Kirk Dillard, in the March primary but he says Republicans must be united to fight Democratic incumbencies.

Edgar left office in 1999 with high approval ratings. He is viewed as a moderate Republican.

Hannah covers state government and politics for NPR Illinois and Illinois Public Radio. She's been dedicated to the statehouse beat since interning at NPR Illinois in 2014, with subsequent stops at outlets including WILL-AM/FM, Law360, The Daily Line and a temporary stint at political blog Capitol Fax before returning to the station in 2020.
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