Bailey Tries to Change the Narrative
Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia), the GOP nominee for Governor.
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A new YouTube video showing a sharp, biting attack by Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia) on Governor JB Pritzker could set the tone for a more aggressive, punchier, direct tone for the final 90 days of the fall campaign.
The video itself isn’t going to change much about the race for Governor as it only had around 550 views on YouTube around 10pm last night, but may say more about what kind of rhetoric you’ll see from the southern Illinois farmer who faces a gigantic cash deficit and lacking infrastructure against the billionaire incumbent.
Bailey’s video came in response to a new ad from Pritzker attacking Bailey for taking “government money,” including a Paycheck Protection Program loan for his farm.
I did some work in ag policy in a previous life and could bloviate at you for hours about the misleading Environmental Working Group “farm subsidy” figures. But the key thing to note is that direct payments to farmers were eliminated in 2014 instead replaced with some support for crop insurance. Because nobody thought it would be a good idea for you to pay $35 for a bag of corn chips.
Of course, there were some direct payments involved with the Trump trade war with China in 2020. But, there’s surely some irony in the uber-progressive Pritzker criticizing someone taking money from the government.
Anyway, Bailey showed a level of fire and directness at Pritzker that it raised more than a few eyebrows from Republicans and Democrats.
“JB Pritzker, you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth,” Bailey says to the camera. “You inherited billions of dollars from your family. You have millions stashed away on islands that most folks have never heard of, let alone visited.”
He’s referring to Pritzker’s offshore investments in the Bahamas and Cayman Islands.
“You’ve literally never worked a day in your life,” Bailey continued, attacking the heir to the Hyatt Hotels family fortune. “You’re the trust fund kid on the school playground pushing all the regular kids around and making fun of their bagged lunches.”
Bailey is trying to change the narrative on Pritzker as Bailey’s own missteps and comments on social issues like abortion have dogged him since becoming the GOP nominee in late June.
Numerous Republicans we spoke to Thursday night were impressed with Bailey’s direct line of attack.
“This is the best thing I’ve seen from Bailey in a long time,” said a Republican lawmaker who asked not to be named.
“If this is the Darren Bailey we would have seen for the last six weeks, maybe we’d be feeling a lot better about our chances,” said a longtime GOP operative who claimed they didn’t vote for Bailey in the primary. “I think painting Pritzker as an out of touch bully works, but Bailey doesn’t have the money to spread that message.”
Bailey filed his campaign finance report days after the primary with around $360,000 in cash on hand while Pritzker had over $60 million. Bailey’s fledgling campaign has also been facing the potential loss of its most lucrative donor, billionaire Richard Uihlein.
That has left some Republicans feeling bearish even if they’re impressed by Bailey’s fiery new line of attack.
“If he was that candidate for the last two years, he could be a dangerous threat to Pritzker,” said another Republican operative who opposed Bailey in the primary. “Unfortunately, he’s spent the most of the last two years sounding like an idiot.
Pritzker spokesperson Natalie Edelstein called Bailey a “hypocrite.”
“He has repeatedly tried to slash the social safety net and throw Illinoisans off benefits, while quietly raking in millions of dollars in government money,” she said. “He cannot be trusted to look out for working families.”
The Pritzker campaign pointed out last night that Bailey is also a millionaire. Any farmer downstate that owns 100 acres of decent farmland is technically a millionaire.
All sides expect the war of words will only ratchet up between now and November.