Following Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s call to send Illinois Republican candidate Darren Bailey “back to the farm,” the Republican nominee fired back, calling on the Democrat mayor to get off her “elitist high horse” and “remember who puts food on your plate.”
In an exclusive statement to Breitbart News on Sunday, state senator and Republican gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey, who is a third-generation farmer, stated his intention to “restore” the Prairie State in light of the “mess” created by Democrat leaders.
“Mayor Lightfoot, I’ll go back to my farm after I clean up the mess you and [Gov.] J. B. Pritzker made and restore Illinois,” he said.
“In the meantime, get off your elitist high horse and remember who puts food on your plate,” he added.
Lightfoot made the offensive comments alongside Vice President Kamala Harris and Illinois Gov. J. B. Pritzker at a Friday rally urging supporters to vote Democrat in November.
“So make no mistake, Trump is on the ballot. His name is Darren Bailey. And we need to send him back to the farm,” she said.
“Trump is on the ballot in every single one of the Republicans that you are going to face when you go into the voting pool. And you must remember that we are Illinois,” she added. “We are a state that believes in people’s rights and that we’re going to treat everyone with dignity and respect.”
Bailey’s campaign site describes the Illinois governor candidate as a “proud” farmer carrying on an American tradition while fighting for liberty:
Growing up on Bailey Family Farm, Darren learned at a young age what it means to work hard and earn an honest living. Today, Darren and his sons own and operate Bailey Family Farm. He grows corn, wheat, and soybeans, all while carrying on the traditions of one of America’s oldest occupations.
In addition, he is described as “grounded in the conservative values of hard work, individual liberty, and social responsibility [and] knows that these precious freedoms are threatened everyday by big government and powerful career politicians.”
Due to his tough-on-crime stance, Bailey recently received an endorsement from the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police.
Last month, he slammed the state’s SAFE-T (Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today) Act that will end cash bail in Illinois and limit the use of force that police officers are permitted to use.
The new law, passed by Democrats, will free from jail thousands of suspects accused of second-degree murder, kidnapping, burglary, robbery, and other violent crimes.
If elected to office, Bailey said he would repeal the law, which is slated to take effect in January.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, right, and Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot participate in a news conference where the governor announced a shelter in place order to combat the spread of the COVID-19 virus, Friday, March 20, 2020, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
“The same so-called reform package makes it harder to charge murder accomplices and allows for anonymous and unsworn complaints to be filed against law enforcement officers,” he said.
He also slammed Pritzker and Lightfoot for the increase in violent crime in Chicago and throughout the state by taking away tools for law enforcement officials to use against criminals.
“Unfortunately, Mayor Lightfoot, Gov. J.B. Pritzker, and the other elite radicals in our state see our police members as the enemy,” Bailey said.
Follow Joshua Klein on Twitter @JoshuaKlein.
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