2 FORMER TRUMP PRIMARY RIVALS HELPING RAUNER
He may be frequently dubbed the most vulnerable Republican governor in the country, but Gov. Bruce Rauner appears to have the support of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and sitting Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker — two unsuccessful Republican primary candidates in the 2016 presidential race.
The three Republicans all share awkward histories with the leader of their party, President Donald Trump.
Bush, the presumed presidential frontrunner who became Trump’s foil on the stump, on Wednesday tweeted an article about Democratic gubernatorial candidate J. B. Pritzker earlier this week saying that he’d kill a private school scholarship pro- gram that Rauner fought to include in a school funding measure last year.
“Thankfully, families wanting more opportunity for their children have a champion in @ Bruce Rauner,” Bush tweeted.
It’s not the first time Bush has heralded the scholarship program. In January, Bush wrote a column for the “National Review,” crediting Rauner for fighting for the program.
“Something revolutionary is happening right now in education. Illinois, one of the most union- dominated states in the country, is ushering in a new era of educational freedom. Governor Bruce Rauner has pulled off the seemingly impossible: He led a bipartisan effort to bring educational choice to Illinois, and it begins this week,” Bush wrote in the January column.
But Bush’s latest assist takes aim at Pritzker, the billionaire entrepreneur and philanthropist with a seemingly unlimited pot of cash who is vying to unseat Rauner come November.
Asked about their relationship, Rauner campaign spokesman Will Alison said Rauner and Bush “call and text from time to time.”
Walker, whom Rauner has long applauded and has already appeared in a campaign ad for Rauner, is set to host a fundraiser for Rauner on April 12 at the Chicago Hilton. The most expensive tickets run $ 50,000.
Walker has been straddling the line with Trump’s administration — just as Rauner has. The Wisconsin governor has opposed some of Trump’s policies — criticizing his proposed tariffs on steel and aluminum — but has also worked with the administration to benefit the state, such as helping to secure the Foxconn deal.
Walker appeared in a Rauner campaign ad last year alongside Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens, who was indicted in February with a felony charge of invasion of privacy stemming from a 2015 affair which has led to calls for his resignation or impeachment.
Bush and Walker were both bulldozed by Trump in the 2016 presidential race. Bush folded his campaign after poor showings in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. Walker dropped out months before the first primary or caucus, urging others to follow him so the party could unite behind an alternative to Trump.
Rauner has been loath to even mention Trump by name, although the two finally met face- to- face in February when Rauner was in Washington to hear oral arguments on a Supreme Court case.
But it was apparently not an in- depth discussion.
“It was more of a social opportunity,” Rauner said at the time.