Texas GOP chair says Illinois is winnable ‘purple state’

The chairman of the Texas Republican Party said Thursday that he thinks Illinois is winnable for the GOP in 2026, despite the party’s lack of success in recent elections.

Speaking to a joint meeting of the Illinois party’s state central committee and county chairs, Abraham George pointed to the fact that Donald Trump won 43.5% of the vote in Illinois in the 2024 presidential election. That was three points more than he received in 2020, when he lost his first reelection bid to Democrat Joe Biden, and nearly five points more than he received in his first presidential run in 2016. The closer margins, however, were mostly due to fewer votes for Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, as Trump improved his vote total by just over 2,000 from 2020 to 2024.

“That’s not a blue state anymore. That’s a purple state,” George said. “This state can flip to a Republican pretty fast.”

The meeting of party officials Thursday morning was a precursor to the annual Republican Day festivities at the Illinois State Fair, an event where the party showcases its major candidates for the next round of elections and tries to generate enthusiasm among its core base of voters.

George was invited to speak to the group largely because of the ongoing controversy in his home state over congressional redistricting, a controversy that has spilled over into Illinois politics.