Politics
JB Pritzker Eyes Rare Third Term as Governor in Rematch With Darren Bailey
From left: Gov. JB Pritzker and former state lawmaker Darren Bailey. (Provided)
Polls have closed in Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker’s bid for a rare third term as Illinois governor, a race that has him in a rematch with former Republican state lawmaker Darren Bailey.
Pritzker, widely viewed as an entrant in the 2028 presidential primary, has made his opposition to President Donald Trump a key feature of his governorship and his third candidacy. Conversely, Bailey, who eagerly accepted Trump’s endorsement in 2022, has walked the tightrope of distancing himself from the unpopular president and courting northeastern Illinois voters likely hostile to Trump while still maintaining his Republican bona fides.
Pritzker has touted his management of the state’s coffers and improvement of the badly out-of-whack finances he blames in large part on his Republican predecessor, Gov. Bruce Rauner. Since taking office, Pritzker told WTTW News for its voter guide, “my administration has eliminated our bill backlog and delivered eight balanced budgets and 12 credit upgrades. By restoring our fiscal foundation, we have funded government services sustainably and saved taxpayers money.”
For his part, Bailey says property taxes and affordability are making Illinois an undesirable place to live. “My opponent had eight years to lower property taxes, lower energy costs, and make our communities safer,” Bailey told WTTW News. “Instead, his policies increased costs and made our communities less safe. We can’t continue doing the same things over and over again and expect a different result.”
A lifelong downstater from Xenia, Bailey spent significant time in the Chicago area during this campaign in an attempt to pull votes away from Pritzker, including during the election’s final stretch. Pritzker crisscrossed the state in recent days with his candidate for lieutenant governor, Christian Mitchell, a former deputy governor and state representative. Bailey’s running mate, Aaron Del Mar, is former co-chair of the Illinois GOP.
Speaking with WTTW News at the governor’s election night party before polls closed, his chief of staff, Anne Caprara, said that Pritzker’s presence on the national stage is important because of “what’s good for the country is good for Illinois, and what’s good for the country right now is to get Democrats elected to the Senate, the House … and to start to roll back some of the worst parts of the Trump agenda.”
“Illinois voters love that their governor’s a fighter,” Caprara said of Pritzker’s possible presidential ambitions. “I also think that Illinois and Illinoisans are used to being leaders in the country. We’ve produced quite a few presidents. We’ve produced some amazing senators. I think that they expect their politicians to be able to walk and chew gum at the same time, and that’s something that the governor does really well.”
In their only matchup before the election at a WTTW News candidate forum, Pritzker and Bailey clashed over the president, public safety, the undecided future home of the Chicago Bears — and the governor’s possible ambitions for higher office.
Speaking to Pritzker’s possible White House run, Bailey said he isn’t running for president, but rather, “I’m running for what I can do as governor here in the state of Illinois.”
“I’m flattered you think I could get elected president of the United States,” Pritzker replied, “but I’m running for reelection as governor for the state of Illinois.”
The third candidate for Illinois governor this cycle is independent Collin Corbett, a Palatine resident who left the Republican party this year and describes himself as fiscally conservative and socially moderate.
“Our political process has become one where the candidates snipe at each other, the parties snipe at each other and nothing actually gets done and working families right now are really, really struggling,” Corbett told WTTW News in an interview. “I want to put the focus on that. How do we actually help make life more affordable for working families? How do we get the state growing again so we can raise everybody’s wages?”
Matt Masterson and Jessica Watts contributed to this story.
Contact Nick Blumberg: [email protected] | (773) 509-5434 | @ndblumberg
