The twice defeated Republican candidate for Lt. Governor, Aaron DelMar, has issued a press reelease calling for a shake-up of the State Grand Old Party:
Aaron Del Mar Calls for a 2027 IL GOP Convention to adopt new party rules, platform and leaders
Palatine – Aaron Del Mar, 5th District Republican State Central Committeeman and former Co-Chairman of the Illinois Republican Party, today urged party leaders to convene an Illinois Republican Party Convention in March of 2027 to set new goals, adopt new rules and elect new leaders who are equipped to deal with the challenges ahead.
“I’ve seen this party from the inside. I’ve seen its strengths, its weaknesses, and most of all, its potential,” Del Mar said. “And after traveling across Illinois and speaking with thousands of voters, candidates, donors, and grassroots Republicans, I’ve come to one conclusion. The Illinois Republican Party has been burned to the ground, politically and organizationally. And it’s time we stop pretending otherwise. This isn’t about one election, one candidate, or one chairman. It’s about years of losing ground, losing financial support, and losing the confidence of the very people we’re supposed to represent. You cannot rebuild a burned-down house with a fresh coat of paint. You have to start with the foundation.”
Drawing on his experience as a township committeeman, Cook County Republican Chairman, State Central Committeeman, state party Co-Chairman, and Republican nominee for lieutenant governor alongside Darren Bailey, Del Mar said the party must address years of lost political ground, financial support, and voter confidence.
Aaron’s plan includes:
- A statewide working convention in March 2027 to adopt new bylaws, a new platform, and a new leadership structure.
- Direct elections of State Central Committee members by Republican primary voters, and an internal representation map designed to provide fairer representation across Illinois.
- An independent audit of party finances, operations, fundraising, and campaign infrastructure, along with stronger ethics standards, transparent decision-making, and measurable performance goals.
- A permanent, year-round candidate recruitment and development operation, with professional training, modern voter data, regional field teams, and resources for county and township organizations.
- A professional fundraising program built on transparent financial reporting and support from major donors, small-dollar contributors, and grassroots Republicans statewide.
“Illinois doesn’t need another Republican power struggle. It needs a Republican Party capable of being an opposition party,” Del Mar said. “This isn’t about me. And it isn’t about any political candidate or faction. It’s about whether we’re prepared to confront what’s broken and make the structural changes necessary to fix it. Illinois is stronger when it has a real opposition party.
A party that challenges those in power, demands accountability, offers meaningful policy alternatives, and gives voters a genuine choice. No political party should have a monopoly on ideas, and no government should operate without serious scrutiny. That’s why rebuilding the Illinois Republican Party matters beyond Republicans themselves. It matters to the future of Illinois. The Illinois Republican Party belongs to its members and the voters it seeks to represent. And they deserve better.”
He also urged Republicans to reconsider how party representation is structured across the state.
“We should not allow congressional maps drawn by Democrats to dictate how Republicans choose their own leadership,” Del Mar said. “I’m calling for us to develop our own internal representation map, built around population, geographic communities, and fair representation across Illinois. Our party’s leadership structure should reflect the people it represents, not simply inherit the political boundaries drawn in Springfield. We must pursue whatever changes to our bylaws and state law are necessary to make that happen.”
Del Mar made it clear his proposal is not a bid to replace the party’s chairman.
“Let me make one thing absolutely clear,” Del Mar said. “I am not running for Chairman of the Illinois Republican Party. I don’t want the job, and I’m not here to help someone else get it.
Because the problem isn’t just who’s sitting in the chairman’s chair. The problem is the system that put them there. Replacing one chairman with another while leaving the same broken structure in place isn’t reform. It’s rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. I’m not interested in inheriting a failed system. I’m interested in replacing it.”
