Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – The two men at the top of Illinois’ Republican ticket this fall attended the Save America rally at the BOS Center in Springfield Wednesday. But what are we trying to save America from?

“We’re trying to save America from the people that want to destroy it, like our governor, JB Pritzker,” said gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey. “I think people are finally waking up and realizing what’s going on, and that’s exactly what (wife) Cindy and I are experiencing in Chicago. It’s a completely different climate than it was four years ago.”

U.S. Senate hopeful Don Tracy says America must be saved “from the takeover of the Democrat Party by the socialists, and, down the road, the takeover of America by the socialists. I thought we had won the war against socialism when the Berlin Wall came down. I thought we had won the war against anti-Semitism when we won World War II.” Tracy also referred to former President Ronald Reagan’s quote about freedom being just a generation away from extinction.

On stage Wednesday, Joe Penland – known as “Joe from Texas” – described a conversation with his wife during a hospital stay. “I woke up, and she told me where I was at and how long I had been there,” he said, “and I said, Mom, I’ve got to do something different now. She said, what’s that? I said, I’ve got a job to help 340 million people keep their Social Security.”

Penland shared top billing with David Walker, a former comptroller general of the United States. “If we don’t reform Social Security,” he said, “then in late 2032, benefits will be cut across the board automatically by law 22-28 percent. And Medicare Part A, in the next year, if we don’t do anything to reform it, will be cut across the board eleven percent.”