Illinois is gearing up for a rematch. Former state legislator Darren Bailey won the Republican nomination for governor on Tuesday, meaning he will face incumbent Gov. JB Pritzker in the November general election.
Pritzker beat out Bailey for the governor’s mansion in 2022 by more than 500,000 votes. But the longtime Illinois Republican said things this time around could be different. “I’m a different person,” Bailey said. “Seven months ago, we didn’t have this on the radar to run. We felt called to it and thought that we had learned enough over the last four years that we could make a difference.” Bailey has made affordability a central tenet of his campaign, criticizing Pritzker for raising taxes multiple times as governor. Pritzker’s FY2026 budget was the state’s largest ever at more than $55 billion, $700 million of which came from new taxes. Pritzker, a billionaire, has maintained that the revenue is necessary to maintain programs Illinoisans rely on. But Bailey said the increasing size of the state budget has not actually solved any key problems.
More context: “When I started running as a state representative, the budget in Illinois was $32 billion, and today it’s $55 billion,” Bailey said. “We just continually, any time there was a problem, whether it was education, mental health, just money. Hundreds of millions of dollars. Throw it at the problem, with no result, no resolve. We still have the same problems.” Despite the new message, Bailey is expected to face strong headwinds in November, running in a midterm election cycle that typically favors the party outside the White House. Bailey, a former staunch supporter of President Donald Trump, has recently sought to distance himself from the administration, seemingly to broaden his appeal in areas such as Chicago. In 2022, Bailey was criticized for referring to Chicago as a “hellhole.” Now he’s taking a different approach to the Windy City and its more than 1.5 million registered voters. “I love Chicago,” Bailey said. “I want to work with Chicago. I want to help make it great. I want to work with every organization, every group of people that’s here. So Chicago, I’m sorry I said what I said, and I hope you open up your doors and your ears and give me another chance.”
