Former GOP primary challenger Angela Evans says Dave Severin's re-election ‘bought and paid for by the ILGOP’
Angela Evans, who challenged incumbent State Rep. Dave Severin in the March 2026 Republican primary for Illinois' 116th House District, said the Illinois Republican Party's involvement in contested primaries undermines grassroots conservatives and diverts resources that should instead be used to defeat Democrats in November.
Evans, a Franklin County Board member and local Realtor, lost the March 17 primary to Severin by a margin of 69.8% to 30.2%.
Despite the loss, she says her campaign exposed deeper problems within the Illinois Republican Party that extend well beyond her own race.
"The ILGOP spent thousands in a Republican primary on RINO (Republican in Name Only) Dave Severin," Evans told the South Central Reporter. "They made sure that every voter in the district had two to four flyers in their mailboxes a week starting the first week of February. They also paid for campaign commercials."
Evans argued that party resources should have been reserved for defeating Democrats in statewide races rather than defending Republican incumbents in primary contests.
"Dave Severin's re-election was won because it was bought and paid for by the ILGOP and the Illinois Republican Caucus," she said. "With several seats open, with Republicans running for comptroller, U.S. Senate, and governor, that money would have been better used to defeat Democrats this fall. The ILGOP cares more about keeping the establishment in place so they keep their power instead of defeating Democrats and bringing real relief to the people of Illinois."
Evans argued the party's priorities are focused on protecting incumbent Republicans rather than expanding the GOP's electoral prospects statewide.
"We should be worried about taking back the House, taking back the Senate, and winning the governor's office," Evans said. "Instead, all they care about is keeping people in line and protecting the establishment. They care about the power and the money. I believe the people deserve better."
Evans' criticism comes months after a lawsuit in Henderson County Circuit Court brought by Citizens for Higgins, represented by attorney Tom DeVore, alleged the Illinois Republican Party improperly used its nonprofit U.S. Postal Service mailing permit to distribute campaign mail benefiting Rep. Norine Hammond during a contested Republican primary against Josh Higgins.
The complaint claimed the discounted postage rate was used through a coordinated arrangement involving the Illinois Republican Party, the House Republican Organization and Hammond's campaign committee.
After the lawsuit was filed, the mailers stopped and Higgins later won the race.
Evans said similar tactics were used much more effectively in her own race.
"They sent those flyers at half-price rates," she said. "What cost them about $2,500 would have cost me $7,500."
Evans contends the volume of mail overwhelmed her ability to communicate with rural voters.
"They knew I might be able to send one flyer, but I couldn't fill mailboxes two or three times every week like they did," she said.
Campaign flyer for State Rep. Dave Severin, funded by the Illinois GOP, part of mailers criticized by former GOP challenger Angela Evans in the 116th District race. (Angela Evans)
She said she joined litigation alongside Higgins and other candidates challenging the party's mailing practices.
"I also joined onto that lawsuit against the Illinois GOP sending out flyers," she said. "It got them to stop sending the cheap mailers in Josh's district, but it didn't stop the mailing in Zach's district or in mine."
According to Evans, her race was not unique and was part of a broader pattern involving multiple contested Republican primaries.
In addition to Higgins' campaign, Evans said the IL GOP weighed in on Victoria Onorato's campaign in District 89, which targeted House Minority Leader State Rep. Tony McCombie (R-Savanna) and Zachary Meyer's campaign, which ran against State Rep. Charlie Meier (R-Okawville).
"It was just these four that were targeted by the Illinois GOP," she said, referring to several contested Republican House primaries around the state. "Not only them, but the Illinois House Republican Organization. They also sent out misleading flyers... with pictures of candidates standing next to President Trump, giving voters the illusion that they were backed by Trump."
Evans said she anticipated the mail campaign before it even began.
"In every speech I gave at Lincoln Day dinners and Reagan Day dinners, I told people, 'Be prepared,'" Evans said. "'Starting in February, the Illinois GOP will put not one, not two, but probably three flyers a week in your mailbox for Dave Severin because that's what they do.'"
Evans said she emailed Illinois Republican Party officials before the campaign asking whether challengers would receive the same discounted mailing assistance.
"I asked if they were going to offer me that same courtesy," she said.
She said she never received a response or acknowledgment of her inquiry.
"Nothing," Evans said.
However, new Illinois GOP chairman Bob Grogan has now spoken out on the issue.
Grogan, who previously served as DuPage County Auditor, was elected chairman on May 18, 2026, a month after the primary, succeeding Kathy Salvi, who spent 22 months in the position and during whose tenure assistance was given to incumbent candidates.
Asked about criticism such as that offered by Evans and the lawsuit over the party's mailing practices in contested primaries, Grogan defended the party's actions but said he is open to reviewing its procedures.
Grogan said the lawsuit challenging the party's mailing practices was "completely unfounded" and characterized it as "a spurious lawsuit" that "never went anywhere."
"Welcome to politics," Grogan told the DuPage Policy Journal. "There is money spent in primaries and that's just the way of the world. But we support our nominees, that's what the primary is for."
He said the party has the ability to reduce campaign costs for candidates where possible.
"The party does have the ability to lighten the load when it comes to indicia and some other things and where we can make it easier on our candidates, we do," Grogan said.
While declining to revisit decisions made before he became chairman, Grogan said he is willing to examine whether the party's policies can be improved.
"I am perfectly willing at looking at how to always do things better," he said. "That's what I do. That's why I think I was elected. I am a person who is brought in to fix broken things, and there is no sacred cow that I'm not willing to look at if we could do things better."
Grogan said his focus is now on the general election rather than past Republican primaries.
"I'm not going to get into primary stuff. We're going forward to November," he said. "The lawsuit was totally baseless. The party gets to raise money, and they get to spend money. I wasn't in charge then, and I'm not going to sit here and second-guess decisions that were made."
Evans repeatedly emphasized that her objection is not simply to losing the election but to what she describes as institutional favoritism by the state party.
"My feeling is that if Dave Severin can win, then he needs to win on his own voting record and on his own merit," Evans said. "Dave has unlimited access to funds. He's got lobbyists. He's got special-interest money. He doesn't need the Illinois GOP getting involved in a primary."
Evans said it was obvious that outside resources, rather than the candidate's campaign alone, drove his re-election effort.
"Even after the primary, people were still getting flyers," she said. "It wasn't because Dave Severin worked harder. His campaign was bought."
She estimated that the party spent hundreds of thousands of dollars across multiple contested Republican primaries.
"They probably spent an easy $500,000 in these races that could have been used to defeat Democrats," Evans said. "We've got the U.S. Senate open, we've got the comptroller's race, we've got governor. We could have tried to flip seats instead of spending money fighting Republicans."
Evans also sharply criticized current and former Illinois Republican Party leadership, arguing that the organization has become disconnected from grassroots conservatives.
"The Illinois GOP, they have no strategy. None. All they care about is who they keep in line and there's the power and the money coming to them," she said. "That's all they care about. They do not care about the people."
Evans argued that the divide often described as a battle between grassroots conservatives and the Republican establishment is fundamentally about accountability.
"It's the grassroots wanting to take the power back from the establishment and give it back to the people because that's where it belongs," she said.
Despite losing the election, Evans believes her challenge changed Severin's voting behavior in Springfield.
"If you look at his voting record right now, it looks like he's one of the most conservative people in Springfield," she said. "That's what primaries do, and that's what Angela Evans did. Yep. I made him start lining up because, hey, that seat is chosen by the people."
She believes contested primaries improve accountability.
Evans nevertheless maintained that Severin still owes constituents an explanation for previous votes she opposes.
"He still owes this district an apology for the gas tax, for allowing non-citizens to become police officers, and for previous votes that betrayed the people," she said. "He didn't change because he suddenly decided to put the people first. He changed because he knew his seat was in jeopardy."
Evans also criticized Severin for seeking another term after previously expressing support for legislative term limits and after previously pledging to serve only four terms.
She said Severin is now in his fifth term and plans to run for a sixth, despite campaigning in 2016 against what he described as career politicians harming the state.
"He became that career politician," she said.
Evans says she remains optimistic about Illinois' future but believes lasting political change must come from grassroots voters rather than party leadership.
"I love my home," she said. "I have no other plans to ever move from here. I was born and raised here in Southern Illinois. My grandkids are here, my family's here, and I just want to see the Illinois that we deserve."