We’re about a week away from the midterm election, and most polls show incumbent Gov. Bruce Rauner trailing Democratic challenger J.B. Pritzker in the gubernatorial race. Morning Shift sat down with Pat Brady, the former chairman of the Illinois Republican Party about the future of the Illinois GOP and why Brady says Republicans have not given up hope that Rauner will pull ahead, despite the numbers.

Polls showing Rauner down are ‘inherently unreliable’

Pat Brady: “There have been races where candidates were 15, 20 points down and ended up winning by 10. The 15-20 points numbers we saw  from a couple of polls [are] inherently unreliable. So it’s a lot closer than that and no Republican I think is resigned at the governor losing. So we’ll see what happens in two weeks. The polls have been wrong the last four or five election cycles.” 

On the GOP appealing to Chicago voters through ‘bread-and-butter’ issues 

Brady: “The case can be made that the irritation at living in the city—and I’m a surburban guy, but I have lived in the city in my life—[are] taxes and services, and bread-and-butter issues that Republicans have to make the case they can do a better job delivering, particularly on property taxes and education. You want to be able to send your kids to school and get a good education. So there are issues that I think Republican philosophies will work better  but we just need to get that message out more and get candidates to run and raise money and do it. The taxes are driving people and business out—and for no reason. Like I said before, there is no better city in the world I don’t think than Chicago, we just have to make it a livable place. And I think the Republican platform in general—outside some of maybe the social stuff—can work in an urban environment, we just have to have good messengers.”