Manzullo Upsets His Primary Opponent

Oregon, IL – Following the Illinois Conservatives’ endorsement of Congressman Don Manzullo, Congressman Adam Kinzinger, Manzullo’s primary opponent, made an attempt to downplay not only the endorsement, but the group itself.

“It is important to note that that the Illinois Conservatives Facebook Group is run by a 20 year old from Congressman Manzullo’s home county and is not an influential voice within the Republican electorate,” a statement issued by Kinzinger’s staff said.

The Illinois Conservatives reject the claims that their endorsements are not influential, citing their previous endorsees as possible evidence.

“I believe Lennie Jarratt, John Bambenek, Michael Harn, Jason Plummer, Don Manzullo, and other conservatives would disagree that our endorsement means nothing,” Illinois Conservatives President Zach Oltmanns said. “If we are not influential then why has [Congressman Kinzinger] spent the last couple days attacking us?”

The statement from Kinzinger’s camp also suggested that the group was falsely claiming to have endorsed the Congressman in 2010. Oltmanns said this is not quite the truth.

“We tried to endorse him in the general election in 2010 but just like most of the tea party groups are numerous calls were not returned by Kinzinger,” Oltmanns said.

The Illinois Conservatives are also disappointed that Kinzinger, at 33 years old, would have such harsh words for a group that consists of a lot of young members.

“We are very disappointed to see a sitting congressman go after our group like this,” Illinois Conservatives Vice President Andrew Spitzer said. “Especially when he started in politics when he was only 20 years old and our group prides ourselves in getting young people involved in politics. But obviously our endorsement was important to him. Although he must be disappointed, I am sad to see that he took a negative way towards a group with so many young members.”

In addition to staying on the defensive against Kinzinger’s remarks, the Illinois Conservatives would also like to thank the many Tea Party groups who have come to their aid and defense in the recent days.

The Illinois Conservatives, a leading conservative grassroots organization in Illinois, believe in conservative ideologies and supports political candidates who share in those beliefs for the betterment of the State of Illinois.

Note: Congressman Manzullo will not be representing voters in McHenry County after the March 20 Primary. That is not to say he will not receive the nomination for the 16th District. It is just that the 16th District no longer will cover McHenry County following the redistricting we have been presented.