Quincy Tea Party hosts candidates as filing time is around the corner

QUINCY — Two Illinois gubernatorial candidates, a congresswoman and an assortment of other politicians made their way to Quincy’s industrial section of the Riverfront Tuesday evening.

The Quincy Tea Party has been holding its meetings in the lower level of Tower Pizza and Mexican, but with a larger than usual crowd expected to gather, the organization sought a larger venue and held the event at The Well, 711 Front Street.

The forum gave candidates an opportunity to present their platforms and circulate petitions. The Tea Party is planning to host more formal debates at future meetings this year, with the June 28 primary and November 8 general election looming.

The first day of filing for the 2022 election is Monday, March 7.

Two of the GOP candidates for governor, Gary Rabine and State. Sen Darren Bailey (R-Xenia) met privately on Bailey’s campaign bus before the event was under way. Both have made previous stops in Quincy.

The appearance was timely in that the state’s chief medical advisor, Dr. Ngozi Ezike, had just announced her resignation as director of the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Bailey said her stepping down was “a relief for Illinois.” His full interview is below.

The Bailey campaign also used the opportunity to take Twitter and link Ezike and Governor JB Pritzker to one of his rivals running for governor, Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin.

Republican Congresswoman Mary Miller, who is running in the newly-configured 15th District against another incumbent member of Congress, Rodney Davis, said she wanted to be with “salt of the earth people” in Illinois Tuesday night as opposed to being in the U.S. Capitol to watch President Joe Biden give the State of the Union address.

Davis did attend the State of the Union and released a statement:

“The state of our Union is in crisis because of President Joe Biden and one-party, Democrat rule in Washington. The President will try and rewrite history, but on every major issue, his Administration and his Democrat allies in Congress are failing the American people. We have a border crisis, an economic and inflation crisis, an energy crisis, a crime crisis, a national security crisis, and more. Every single crisis has been created or made worse by the policies and rhetoric of President Biden and Democrats in Congress. My Republican colleagues and I will continue to hold President Biden and Speaker Pelosi accountable for pursuing an out-of-touch, far-left agenda and press for real solutions to the issues the American people face and care about.”

Congressman Sam Graves, who represents Missouri’s 6th District also responded:

“The difference between what we’re feeling in North Missouri and what the President says we’re feeling is stark. The supply chain crisis, coupled with out-of-control inflation, is driving prices through the roof and making it more difficult for families, farmers, and small business owners to succeed. This crisis isn’t going to end until President Biden stops passing the buck and starts living up to his promises.”