SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Illinois labor leaders are apparently so worried about gubernatorial hopeful Bruce Rauner they’re contributing big bucks to libertarian candidate Chad Grimm, who has little chance of winning.

The International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150 contributed $30,000 to Grimm’s campaign this month in an apparent attempt to draw support away from Rauner, a Republican who has vowed to take on “government union bosses.” Rauner is currently in a close race with Democrat Governor Pat Quinn, big labor’s top pick, the Associated Press reports.

The most recent donation is on top of $200,000 the union sent to a political action committee that backs Grimm, as well as $45,000 sent to help Libertarians in a legal fight with Republicans to keep their candidates on the ballot.

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Union leaders, of course, framed their spending as a way of “offering a viable choice for members who do not support Democrats,” according to the news service.

“Nearly half of our members in Illinois pull Republican ballots in a typical primary election, so it is important that these members have the opportunity to back a candidate that will not attack their livelihood,” union spokesman Ed Maher told the Chicago Sun-Times last week.

In other words, on the conservative side of the spectrum, the union views Grimm as the lesser of two evils.

Rauner pledged to give locals the ability to opt in to “right to work” status, which would give unionized workers the ability to drop out of their union, which would obviously devastate organized labor’s revenues and political clout.

Grimm, 33, is currently polling around 5 to 8 percent, with Quinn and Rauner virtually tied.

“He appears to be taking away slightly more votes from Rauner than from Gov. Pat Quinn,” the Sun-Times reports. “The object is to push up Grimm’s poll number by informing conservative Republican voters that he’s the only pro-gun, pro-life candidate in the governor’s race.”

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Grimm, a fiscal conservative who believes in limited government, had a paltry $100 in his campaign fund just a month ago. The Peoria gym manager told the AP he doesn’t have a problem taking the union’s money.

“I’m not going to turn it down,” Grimm said. “I can’t possibly get behind everybody’s motivations for wanting to help out.”

Grimm plans to use the money to help get mailers out to voters, upgrades to his campaign website, and maybe a radio ad.

“As for unions, Grimm says he has no problem with private sector unions, but he ‘isn’t fond of public sector unions as the people who write their checks (the taxpayers) are not there to negotiate.”

Rauner spokesman Mike Schrimpf said “Illinoisans … understand that a vote for Grimm is the same as voting for Pat Quinn.”

The news prompted wide-ranging reactions on social media, but at least one poster thought the whole situation was pretty punny.

“Such a Grimm tale…an extra politician who’ll be an ornament on the Union Christmas tree…another hanging Chad,” Never give up posted on the Illinois Review site.