Top Republicans Critical of Illinois GOP Recruitment
Illinois Republican Party Chair Kathy Salvi at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee last year. (Photo: Chicago Tribune)
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Tensions appear to be rising in many top Republican circles around the state as the party struggles to recruit top tier candidates for statewide offices in 2026 and much of the ire is being directed at the Illinois Republican Party apparatus and chair Kathy Salvi.
Petition circulation for the March 2026 primary begins Tuesday and Republicans have yet to field major candidates for U.S. Senate and most statewide offices and only one Republican has entered the race with any semblance of a real campaign.
Republican leadership has come under fire in recent weeks as Democrat State Comptroller Susana Mendoza announced she wouldn’t seek re-election, creating an open race for the job for the first time since 2010. Not only have no Republicans announced their campaigns for the seat, but few Republicans are publicly expressing interest in the job.
Multiple sources tell The Illinoize the Illinois GOP has not been actively involved in candidate recruitment for statewide races, though party leaders have privately offered encouragement to candidates who have expressed interest in running statewide, including former RNC National Committeeman Richard Porter, who is considering a run for U.S. Senate.
The Illinoize spoke to multiple top Republican consultants, insiders, officals, and current and former lawmakers and allowed them to respond anonymously to protect relationships within the party. Most insider we spoke to say the Illinois GOP is a “mess.”
“I'd put the blame on Kathy Salvi directly,” said one top Republican insider. “She's not even really showing up to events anymore, which is like the only thing she brought to the table. At this point, I don't even know what Kathy Salvi does.”
But the dissention appears to extend from the top of the party apparatus all the way through the grassroots, which is not a new phenomenon for Illinois Republicans.
“The party is in a state of disarray,” said a top Republican official. “[We’re] lacking clear leadership, direction, and a unified strategy heading into 2026.”
While top Republicans have been slow to express interest in statewide races, top Republicans say the state party has not been involved at all in recruiting a slate of statewide candidates.
“The party has yet to recruit or rally behind credible, high-profile candidates, leaving a leadership vacuum at the top of the ticket,” said the Republican official. “We have internal divisions, fundraising challenges, and a failure to build a statewide message. It just makes it even harder to compete against a well-organized Democratic machine.”
Neither a party spokesperson or Salvi responded to a message from The Illinoize Thursday evening.
As petition circulation is set to begin Tuesday and the Illinois State Fair and it’s traditional political days in two weeks, some Republicans say it’s time for the GOP to get its act together.
“The Illinois GOP needs to wake up and realize petition [circulation] starts in five days,” a GOP consultant said. “Without a strong top of the ticket, down ballot races will suffer and party will become more irrelevant than it already is.”
But one longtime Illinois lawmaker says Salvi isn’t to blame for the party’s struggle to recruit candidates.
“I really don’t think it’s necessarily the Chair’s job [to recruit,] the former lawmaker said. “The people kicking around the idea running need to ‘s**t or get off the pot.’ Real money will follow campaigns that show promise. You gotta start.”
But other Republicans have thrown in the towel expecting a bloodbath for the GOP next year.
“The party in today’s day and age is just ungovernable and irrelevant,” a GOP insider said. “In [Kathy’s] defense, I don’t think anyone can be successful. That’s kind of where they are.”
