Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner called on Republicans to unite and defeat Hillary Clinton in November, but chose not to mention Donald Trump by name.
“This primary season has been really hard up and down the ticket. The good news: It’s in the past,” Rauner said at the Illinois GOP state convention. “Now is the time to come together. Now is the time to unite up and down the ticket.”
He continued to argue that “our values are the values that have made America the greatest nation on earth,” and noted that reasonable people can disagree on certain issues.
“What unites us is far stronger and far larger than what divides us, and we’re going to focus on what unites us,” Rauner said. “What we can’t do is have Hillary get in the White House. No way Hillary’s getting in the White House. No way.”
Rauner previously said he will not endorse Trump for president and has chosen not to attend this summer’s GOP convention in Cleveland. But Trump overwhelmingly won the Illinois primary, which appears to put the governor at odds with many of his voters on the merit of the Republican Party’s nominee.
The governor’s decision to urge Republicans to vote for the party’s nominee without endorsing him or identifying him by name is one that may be replicated by other Republicans nationwide who are leery of Trump.
