COVERAGE OF THE REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION.

BRANDIS FRIEDMAN, FORMER PRESIDENT PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP'S NEWLY MINTED RUNNING MATE IS SET TO TAKE THE STAGE IN MILWAUKEE TONIGHT.

THIS HAS THIS EVENING'S SPEAKERS SHIFT THE FOCUS TO ISSUES OF NATIONAL SECURITY AND FOREIGN POLICY.

IT'S BEEN A DECADE SINCE A REPUBLICAN WON A STATEWIDE ELECTION IN ILLINOIS.

BUT PARTY LEADERS SAY THEY'RE WORKING HARD TO REVERSE THE POLITICAL TIDE.

OF COURSE, FORMER PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP AND NOW HIS RUNNING MATE, JD VANCE WILL PLAY A ROLE AS WILL A NEW STATE PARTY LEADER WHO MADE A FIRST APPEARANCE TODAY SINCE WINNING THAT TITLE.

AND JOINS US NOW FROM MILWAUKEE'S PFIZER FORM WITH MORE.

AMANDA.

YES, SEVERAL DELEGATES TO THE REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION ME THAT THEY ARE HAVING THE TIME OF THEIR LIVES.

NOT A HUGE SURPRISE.

IF THEY'RE HERE.

THEY COURSE, GOING TO BE SOME OF THE PARTY'S MOST FERVENT SUPPORTERS AND THAT OF FORMER PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP OUTSIDE OF WEEKEND BEING HERE IN MILWAUKEE.

TOUGH THESE DAYS TO BE A REPUBLICAN FROM ILLINOIS.

STATE REPRESENTATIVE CHARLIE MYERS.

WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE IN THE SUPER MINORITY.

WOULDN'T IT BE AMAZING THING IF WE CAN SEE DONALD TRUMP?

ACTUALLY HELP ILLINOIS GAME BACK.

I WANT TO 40 OUT OF 118.

YOU WANT TO TRY TO RUN OF SPRING FIELD.

THAT'S GOOD FOR YOUR DISTRICT.

THAT'S NOT EASY WHEN YOU'RE ONE OF 40.

AS YOU HEARD MYERS HOPEFUL THAT TRUMP IS GOING TO HELP ELECT MORE REPUBLICANS IN ILLINOIS, BUT HE RECOGNIZES HE SAYS THAT IN ORDER FOR THAT TO HAPPEN, MEMBERS OF HIS PARTY HAVE TO RECOGNIZE THAT POLICIES AND PEOPLE LIKE TRUMP THAT ARE POPULAR AND HE'S PART OF THE STATE.

SO IN SOUTHERN ILLINOIS ARE NOT NECESSARILY GOING TO FLY IN SUBURBS WHERE MODERATE CLASSICALLY PERFORM BETTER.

THERE'S A DIVIDE THAT HAS LONG BEEN SIMMERING BETWEEN CONSERVATIVES AND MODERATES.

THAT LONG?

A SOURCE OF TENSION, ILLINOIS, REALLY REACHING A FEVER PITCH THIS YEAR.

AND SORTS OF DIVISIONS ARE ACTUALLY WHAT CHASE OUT.

THE OUTGOING CHAIR OF THE ILLINOIS REPUBLICAN PARTY IN A SINGING RESIGNATION LETTER.

JOHN TRACY QUIT AFTER BUT SELF TITLED GRASSROOTS MOVEMENT WENT AFTER HIM AND OTHER PARTY LEADERS.

THAT THERE ARE SOME PEOPLE THAT SEEM TO WANT TO CREATE DIVISIONS WITHIN THE PARTY LIKE DIVISION BETWEEN THE SO-CALLED GRASSROOTS AND THE SO-CALLED ESTABLISHMENT.

AND THERE THERE IS NO SUCH THING REALLY.

IT'S ONE PARTY.

WE NEED TO BE ONE REPUBLICAN PARTY AND SURE THE PRIMARY GOING TO BE DIVISIONS SHOULD BE BETWEEN GRASSROOTS AND ESTABLISHMENT OR ANY OF THE GROUPS.

IT SHOULD BE BETWEEN THE CANDIDATES.

BUT ONCE IT'S OVER, WE UNITE AS ONE PARTY, NOT SEPARATE DIVISIONS.

TRACY SAYS HE FULLY BACKS HIS SUCCESSOR.

THAT IS ATTORNEY KATHY SALVI.

SHE WAS THE REPUBLICAN NOMINEE FOR U.S. SENATE LOST TO INCUMBENT DEMOCRAT TAMMY DUCKWORTH IN HER FIRST PUBLIC SPEECH SINCE WINNING BUT CHAIR'S RACE ON FRIDAY.

TALKED ABOUT BUILDING BRIDGES.

WE'RE NOT THE PARTY OF DIVISION IN DIVISIVE.

WE'RE THE PARTY HOPE AND OPTIMISM AND A BETTER REALLY DOING A BETTER FUTURE FOR AMERICA CHILDREN.

YOU DO NOT BURNING BUILDINGS IN USING INCENDIARY LANGUAGE WHEN OUR PRESIDENT WAS NEARLY ASSASSINATED.

DO YOU KNOW?

THAT'S ALL HE SAYS.

BUT ALREADY SHE'S WITNESSING THE PARTY COALESCING AROUND TRUMP AND ALSO WATCHING HIS DELEGATES TO THE REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION WHO HADN'T TALKING AGES ARE ONCE AGAIN HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS.

I THINK THAT BEING FOR HOURS AND HOURS TOGETHER ON THE FLOOR ON A TROLLEY TO GET AROUND TO GET TO THE CONVENTION CENTER WILL DO THAT AND PROBABLY AIDED BY SOME OF AFTER PARTY YEARS BEEN 50 HAVING.

HE SAYS THAT SHE CONSIDERS STATE PARTY NOW TO BE LIKE HER 7 FILED.

AND SHE SAYS THAT AS SHE DID WITH HER, SHOULD KIDS PARTY WHEN THEY WERE YOUNG AND THEY WERE FIGHTING.

SHE WANTS MEMBERS OF THE GOP TO TALK IN SET ASIDE THEIR DIFFERENCES.

I THINK ALL OF US HERE NEED TO START PULLING THOSE PEOPLE.

LISTEN, I LOVE THIS PARTY BECAUSE WE AIR OUR DIRTY LAUNDRY WITH ONE ANOTHER AND IT GETS INTO THE PRICE OF THE FINE PEOPLE.

BUT WE NEED TO SAY, YOU KNOW, LET'S GIVE THAT PERSON THE BENEFIT WITH NEW FRESH DAY WE WILL WIN ELECTION HERE ILLINOIS.

LET ME REMIND YOU AGAIN, THE PUBLIC AND UNITY WINS IN 2024.

SELL OUTGOING.

SURE.

TRACY WAS AND UNABLE TO GIVE A YES OR NO ANSWER.

WHEN I ASKED HIM WHETHER THE REPUBLICANS THAT NEED TO HEAR AND LOOK THAT MESSAGE ARE AT THE CONVENTION TO BE ABLE TO HEAR US AND TO EMBRACE CRAZY, BY THE WAY.

HIS FINAL DAY ON THE JOB WILL BE TOMORROW FOR IT REALLY IS DONALD TRUMP'S BIG SPEECH AND THEN CELL B TAKES OVER ON FRIDAY.

SHE'S GOT A LOT WORK CUT OUT FOR HER WHEN IT COMES TO FUNDRAISING.

I GUESS WE COULD ALSO LOOK AT HOW WELL THE REPUBLICAN PARTY DOESN'T, ILLINOIS, BY LOOKING AT NUMBERS FROM 4 YEARS AGO WHEN WE HAD PREVIOUSLY HAD A MATCHUP BETWEEN NOW PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN FORMER PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP OF THE ROUGHLY 6 MILLION ILLINOIS IN TO CAST VOTES IN THE GENERAL ELECTION