Sangamon Sun

Kent Gray, a conservative candidate for Illinois House of Representatives District 87, is panning opponent, State Rep. Tom Butler (R-Springfield), for not pulling his endorsement of GOP gubernatorial candidate Richard Irvin.

Irvin is under fire after a series of leaked texts showed his disdain for former President Donald Trump.

"I don't think that endorsements are going to be pulled because Tim Butler thinks that Donald Trump's an idiot and a racist, too. I mean, Tim Butler is the biggest Never Trumper in the Illinois House of Representatives. He's the Adam Kinzinger of the Illinois House," Gray told Sangamon Sun. "I've been in politics for a long time. I understand what the goal is among some of the leadership of the Illinois Republican Party with Richard Irvin. But I've been extremely concerned that he has a long history of voting in the Democratic primaries and even by our own rules of the Republican Party in Illinois, I don't think he qualifies to use the resources of the Republican Party like our data systems for running for office, because he hasn't voted two Republican primaries in a row and this latest reveal of his true feelings about President Trump and really most Trump voters."

Gray said this disqualifies Irvin from being a "successful candidate" for the Republican Party in Illinois.

"And the people that supported him, including my opponent, Tim Butler, should be ashamed that they went down this path without fully understanding just how out of touch with the voters of the Republican Party Richard Irvin was," he said. 

Butler did not respond to a request for a response.

Gray’s comments come amid a movement to ask high profile endorsees of Irvin to pull their support from the gubernatorial candidate following the leak of a series of texts in which he calls Trump a "bigot," adding "I hate Trump too!" And "He’s an idiot!!!"

Conservative activists are calling the comments disqualifying, according to the Grundy Reporter.

Gray has been campaigning to unseat Butler in the June 28 Republican primary. He is a Springfield-based attorney who served on Trump’s campaigns in Illinois and Missouri.

A lawyer in private practice, Gray has more than 20 years of experience advising municipalities and other local government organizations on difficult logistics and legal concerns, the Sangamon Sun reported.

House Minority Leader Jim Durkin and Butler, the Illinois House Assistant Republican Leader, are among the so-called "Combine Republicans" who support Irvin (R-Western Springs), according to The Southland Journal.

Durkin has committed his deputy chief of staff and spokeswoman to Irvin's campaign, which was launched on Jan. 17, the Prairie State Wire reported.