Scalise tells Illinois GOP it can recover by rebuilding

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - The No. 2 Republican in the U.S. House has a hopeful message for the beleaguered Illinois GOP.

Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana was the featured speaker at Thursday's Republican Day at the Illinois State Fair.

Illinois Republicans lost the governorship last year. Democrats hold every statewide office and extraordinary majorities in the General Assembly.

Scalise, the U.S. House Minority Whip, says his home state was dominated by Democrats when he started his political career.

But he says Republicans built strong local party organizations to make GOP majorities in the Louisiana statehouse today.

Scalise was severely wounded in 2017 when a gunman fired on a congressional baseball game. U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis of Illinois introduced him Thursday and says Scalise is the GOP's "story of redemption. He's our story of recovery."