New Jersey Gov. Christie stumps for Rauner
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie stopped in Illinois Wednesday to campaign for Republican candidate for governor Bruce Rauner and criticized Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn's bid to raise the state's minimum wage.
Rauner and Christie shook hands and took photos with voters at a Springfield restaurant after a morning of private fundraisers.
“Gov. Quinn's approach to economic growth is government control and the minimum possible that someone can make,” Christie said. “Bruce Rauner's is letting the free market system work well.”
Christie, who heads the national Republican Governors Association, said he'll be in Illinois ”a number of times” before the Nov. 4 election to support Rauner.
Quinn has sought to make raising the Illinois minimum wage a major campaign issue and Democratic lawmakers put an advisory question on November's ballot about raising it to $10 from $8.25.
Rauner has said he could favor raising the minimum wage if the move accompanied a package of business reforms, but Democrats have criticized him for making conflicting public statements on the issue in the past.
Quinn released a new TV ad Wednesday seeking to contrast his minimum wage views against Rauner's personal wealth,
“The next time Bruce Rauner tells you he's a regular guy? Maybe not so much,” the ad says.
Rauner, meanwhile, has argued to voters that the state's higher-than-average unemployment rate means Quinn's administration has been bad for businesses and the workers they employ.