The ad prompted voters to call Jeanne Ives (pictured) to tell her that “her conservative policies are just too conservative for Illinois." | Rich Hein/Sun Times via AP Photo Democrats meddle in Illinois GOP primary The Democratic Governors Association is running an ad calling Gov. Bruce Rauner’s primary challenger, Jeanne Ives, ‘too conservative’ for the state.

The Democratic Governors Association is planning to launch an ad calling Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner's right-wing challenger "too conservative" for the state — an apparent move to boost state Rep. Jeanne Ives in her campaign's final days.

The ad, which is slated to begin airing on broadcast and cable TV in the state Friday, begins with a question: "When is a conservative leader too conservative for Illinois?"


But it quickly evolves into a list of Ives' conservative positions, presenting them in a way that could be appealing to some Republican primary voters. "Meet Jeanne Ives: She's been rated as one of the most conservative in the state. Ives wants to ban abortions. She has an 'A' rating from the NRA, pushing to arm teachers and stop new gun laws. And on immigration, Ives marches in lock-step with President [Donald] Trump, trying to eliminate protections for undocumented immigrants."

The ad concludes by listing Ives' office phone number in Springfield, using the word "conservative" for the fourth and fifth times in the 30-second spot: "Tell Jeanne Ives: Her conservative policies are just too conservative for Illinois."

At the bottom of the screen is the disclaimer that the ad was paid for by the DGA.

The DGA is also launching an ad attacking Rauner, but that spot takes a different tone, slamming Rauner's economic record. "Today, our state has the worst unemployment rate in the Midwest — and the worst credit rating of any state in the country," a narrator says. "What's worse? Rauner racked up billions in unpaid bills, leaving Illinois taxpayers on the hook. Tell Gov. Rauner his record is a lack of leadership — in the worst way."

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When word of the DGA's ad buy reached Illinois, Rauner's campaign was quick to slam the group and link it to Rauner's favorite boogeyman: state House Speaker Mike Madigan, a longtime Democratic power broker in Chicago.

"Washington Democrats have teamed up with Mike Madigan's favorite Republican Jeanne Ives because they know they can't beat Gov. Rauner in November," a Rauner spokesman said in response to questions about the upcoming ads.

A release from the DGA states that they are running both ads to hold Rauner and Ives "accountable for their failed policy agendas."

“Jeanne Ives’ positions are just too conservative for Illinois. And Rauner’s refusal to show leadership has made Illinois worse off fiscally and economically," said DGA spokesman Sam Salustro. "It’s time for both leaders to start working for Illinois families, and not themselves.”

According to Advertising Analytics, as of Thursday evening the DGA is set to spend at least $451,000 to air the ads from Friday through Tuesday, the date of the GOP primary.

Each ad is going to be running in "significant rotation," said a DGA official who declined to specify whether one ad would run more often than the other.

It’s unclear how much impact the DGA’s ad will have at at time when it’s competing on incredibly congested airwaves. The governor’s race alone has seen more than $55 million in TV ad spending. For his part, Rauner himself has poured millions of dollars into meddling in the Democratic primary, financing attack ads hitting Democratic front-runner J.B. Pritzker.

The DGA has run ads during Republican primaries before. In 2016, a DGA-affiliated group paid for an ad attacking Republican Eric Greitens for accepting campaign donations from a man accused of sexual abuse. Greitens would go on to win that primary, and then the general election later that year. (Greitens is currently under indictment for invasion of privacy related to an extramarital affair.)

The strategy is more reminiscent of the Missouri Senate primary in 2012, when Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill paid for ads calling then-Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.) — whom she viewed as her weakest possible opponent — "too conservative" for the state.

"Using the guidance of my campaign staff and consultants, we came up with the idea for a 'dog whistle' ad, a message that was pitched in such a way that it would be heard only by a certain group of people," McCaskill wrote later in her memoir. "I told my team we needed to put Akin’s uber-conservative bona fides in an ad — and then, using reverse psychology, tell voters not to vote for him. And we needed to run the hell out of that ad."