Dupage Policy Journal

State Rep. Grant Wehrli (R-Naperville) would not say Tuesday whether he would support President Donald Trump's 2020 re-election run.

Wehrli shared news of former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell's criticism of Trump with his 1,194 Twitter followers on Monday, raising questions among Illinois Republicans as to whether the three-term legislator would endorse Democrat Joe Biden.

"As an Assistant Minority Leader in the IL House, it's kind of important that you clarify," wrote Fran Eaton, a longtime Illinois conservative activist and publisher of Illinois Review.

Wehrli's retweet of Colin Powell's endorsement of Democratic candidate Joe Biden.

Wehrli did not respond to Eaton nor to requests for comment from DuPage Policy Journal.

Wehrli retweeted a June 7 CBS News item stating “Colin Powell announced he will vote for Joe Biden over President Trump in November saying the president has drifted away from the Constitution and lies all the time.”

Once a Republican who served in the administration of President George W. Bush, Powell is a Democrat who endorsed President Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012 and Hillary Clinton in 2016.

“I certainly cannot in any way support President Trump this year,” Powell told CNN.

Wehrli has been in office for five years and is up for re-election in November.

In 2018, Wehrli narrowly won a challenge by Democrat Val Montgomery, despite reporting by the Chicago Sun Times revealing Montgomery did not live in the district. 

In that race, Wehrli garnered 52 percent of the vote versus Montgomery's 48 percent.

He had no opponent in 2016. In 2014, Wehrli first won election with nearly 70 percent of the vote. 

Jim Ruhl, chairman of the Naperville GOP, couldn't confirm whether Wehrli would support Biden over Trump.  He said he would support Wehrli for re-election regardless.

"If you look at his voting record, you will see that Grant is a proponent of the Republican Party," Ruhl said. 

Ruhl said Wehrli told him the tweet was a sign of respect for Powell. 

“That's why the tweet was empty,” Ruhl told the DuPage Policy Journal. “There was no endorsement by Rep. Wehrli one way or the other.”

In 2018, Wehrli angered conservative Republicans when he voted for the so-called Equal Rights Amendment, which would enshrine the right to abortion in the U.S. Constitution.