Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner and running mate Evelyn Sanguinetti visited campus Thursday for the Students for Rauner Coalition event.

The event, held at 5 p.m. at the Illini Union, was a roll-out event for the coalition, which will be traveling to universities across the state until the election. Rauner said he wants to meet voters, especially students, to encourage them to get involved in the process.

“Join with us and spread the word about how important this election is, spread the word that we have got to make sure everyone registers to vote and gets out to vote,” Rauner said in a phone interview.

Rauner, a member of the chancellor’s strategic advisory board and University donor, said that he chose to roll out the coalition at the University because of its impact on the state.

“It’s of fantastic quality and I want to see the University of Illinois supported financially and strategically with support from the state government,” Rauner said. “I’d like to see the University expand and have an even bigger, positive economic impact on the economic growth in the state of Illinois.”

Rauner said that it is important for students to vote to protect their futures and he said he hopes to spread his message to young voters.

“We are bringing our message to the voters of every age and every circumstance, and we are especially reaching out to young people and young voters and students particularly,” he said.

The main goal of the Students for Rauner Coalition is to make sure that students and young people are registered to vote, according to Rauner. He also said he wants them to know that their votes matter.

“This is a critical election. We want students to register; we want them to get engaged in the process,” Rauner said. “It’s a duty to engage in the process of democracy here in America.”

Miranda can be reached at [email protected].