Republican Race in State Representative District 52

Republican leaders are denouncing David McSweeney’s negative campaign against Kent Gaffney, Republican for State Representative in the 52nd District.

The Republican legislators say McSweeney’s negative attacks on Gaffney are untrue and are intentionally misleading voters about Gaffney’s solid record of fiscal conservatism.

“I supported the appointment of Kent Gaffney for State Representative because of his experience as a budget hawk who worked to cut spending and pass real fiscal reforms,” said Mike Tryon, Republican State Representative for the 64th District. “It’s always disappointing to see candidates resort to negative ads that distort the truth. I’ve known Kent a long time and I can tell you that he stood up to the Democrats that control Springfield and fought for our shared Republican values.”

Representative Ed Sullivan (R-Mundelein) is backing Gaffney and has worked with Kent on budget and tax issues at the Capitol.

“The misleading attack ads against Kent are blatantly false,” Rep. Sullivan said. “The charges are outrageous and prove that David McSweeney will say and do anything to win. Just think about what McSweeney is saying. Kent Gaffney, the Republican budget director, is responsible for the Democrats’ tax increase and big government spending? These are ridiculously untrue attacks. Kent is fighting for Republican principles of lower taxes and less spending.”

Kent Gaffney served as the Director of Appropriations for the Illinois House Republican Caucus prior to his appointment as State Representative. House Republican Leader Tom Cross worked closely with Gaffney as they fought for fiscal responsibility in Springfield.

“These attacks do not reflect Kent’s record as a fiscal reformer,” Leader Cross said. “He opposed the Democrats’ reckless tax-and-spend policies. Kent’s experience, depth of knowledge of the state budget, and his fiscal conservatism make him the right person to help solve Illinois’ fiscal crisis and get our state back on track.”

Representative Gaffney thanked his fellow Republican legislators for their support and reiterated that his campaign’s focus is on solutions to the problems facing Illinois.

“I have run a positive, issue-based campaign to inform voters of my budget expertise, my common-sense solutions for our state, and my endorsements by 50 local Republican leaders, ABATE, the Chicago Tribune, the Daily Herald, the Illinois Chamber of Commerce and the National Rifle Association,” Gaffney said.

“My opponent, David McSweeney, is running a blatantly false smear campaign against me that attempts to link me to big spending and higher taxes. As the budget director for the House Republicans, I opposed the Democrats’ borrowing and spending sprees that led to the state’s fiscal crisis. And I worked to stop Governor Quinn’s borrowing plan that would have piled more debt onto taxpayers.

“On taxes, I opposed the Democrats’ 67 percent income tax hike and worked to unite Republican legislators against it. I’m the chief sponsor of legislation to repeal the tax increase.

“Let me be clear – I believe in smaller government, less spending and lower taxes. I have fought for these conservative Republican principles throughout my adult life. I am the only candidate in this race with the experience and proven track record to clean up the mess in Springfield.

“I again urge the voters of the 52nd District to reject David McSweeney’s false, negative attacks. Over his 15-year political career, McSweeney has spent $2.7 million of his own money attacking fellow Republicans. His dirty smear campaigns have failed twice and I am hopeful that voters will say no to McSweeney for a third time on Tuesday.”

Gaffney and McSweeney are two of the three candidates in this race. The third is Danielle Rowe.