Illinois Delegates Cast Nominating Votes for Trump


It’s official: Donald Trump is the Republican nominee for president. Illinois delegates officially cast their ballots for Trump on Tuesday—the culmination of months of volunteering and organizing.

They described feeling “euphoric” and said it was the highlight of their week.

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“It was amazing announcing the roll call totals,” said Illinois Republican Chairman Tim Schneider. “I’ve never been to a convention before and they asked me to announce the roll call vote, and it was a real privilege for me to do that.

“I was honored to do that. It’s been a historic evening for me,” he said.

There was some disappointment that it wasn’t a unified vote. Trump received 54 delegate votes—the majority of the state’s 69 votes. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz received his nine delegate votes and Ohio Gov. John Kasich got his six votes.

In order for Trump to have received all of Illinois’ votes, the campaigns would have had to release their delegates in accordance with Illinois law.

This comes as the Illinois Republican Party still struggles to present a unified front. U.S. Rep. Randy Hultgren says he’s ready to jump on board and support Trump. The selection of Indiana Gov. Mike Pence as Trump’s vice president sealed the deal for Hultgren.

“It is also encouraging to see the team he's building. Mike Pence is an incredible governor, incredible man, somebody who I believe so strongly in,” Hultgren said. “And I think they'll be a great team that will balance each other out in a good way.”

U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger says that he’s not voting for Hillary Clinton but he’s just not comfortable with Trump yet.

"I want to get there, I want to get to yes. I hope this is the week that does it, that unifies the party," said Kinzinger, who says there are still things that concern him.

"It's hard to tell what it's going to take to get me there, except that I have to feel comfortable with it. Obviously, he wasn't my first choice, but the people spoke. I just need to see someone who is competent and trustworthy and will clean up a lot of the mess we've seen," he said.

Join “Chicago Tonight” for continued coverage of the Republican National Convention all week.

Follow Paris Schutz on Twitter: @paschutz


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