Ives resisted pressure to pull the ad, contending that it drew attention to Rauner's record and that its criticisms were aimed at policies, not people.
In the Republican primary for the 2018 Illinois gubernatorial election, incumbent governor Bruce Rauner faced one opponent, state representative Jeanne Ives.
[3][1] However, in January 2018, the Rauner pulled the ad from the air, one day after one of the governors appearing in it — Missouri's Eric Greitens — confessed that he'd had an extramarital affair with a stylist.
[3] An actor wearing a black hoodie and a bandana thanks Rauner "for opposing law enforcement and making Illinois a sanctuary state for illegal immigrant criminals".
[3] Tim Schneider, the chair of the Illinois Republican Party, issued a statement calling the ad "a cowardly attempt to stoke political division" and accusing it of "attack(ing) our fellow Illinoisans based on their race, gender, or humanity.
[1] Erika Harold, who was running for (and ultimately won) the Republican nomination for Illinois attorney general that year, likewise called on Ives to "immediately take it off the air.
"[2] The Illinois chapter of the ACLU, an LGBT civil rights advocacy group, the Chicago teachers union, and a pro-choice political action committee also criticized the ad.
[2] A spokesperson for the union told the Chicago Tribune that the organization refused to "dignify this racist, sexist, homophobic piece of crap with a response".