It's Bailey vs. Pritzker in November
Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia) and wife Cindy celebrate winning the GOP nomination for Governor Tuesday night in Effingham. (Photo: Chicago Tribune)
Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia) completed his takeover of the Illinois Republican Party Tuesday night. The small town farmer from around 30 miles south of Effingham who served two years in the Illinois House and has served 18 months in the Illinois Senate became the GOP nominee for Governor scoring nearly 60% of the vote in Tuesday’s primary.
Bailey led his nearest competitor, Springfield-area venture capitalist Jesse Sullivan with around 440,000 votes to around 120,000 votes with around 84% of votes reported early Wednesday morning.
“Tonight, our movement sent a clear message to the establishment and the political elites: we will not be ignored,” Bailey said to cheers at his victory party in Effingham.
Bailey’s insurgent campaign bucked the traditional party establishment, which fell in line behind Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin, who received $50 million from billionaire Ken Griffin but finished a disappointing third in the race.
Irvin, meanwhile, blamed his performance on a barrage of negative ads funded by the Pritzker campaign and the Democratic Governor’s Association.
“Tonight, JB Pritzker won the Republican primary for governor here in Illinois,” Irvin said during his concession speech around 8:30 Tuesday evening. “He spent a historic amount of money to choose his own Republican opponent in the general election.”
Irvin said he “wishes Darren Bailey well” but stopped short of an endorsement.
Governor JB Pritzker holds a rally Tuesday night in Chicago.
Kicking off his own fall election campaign Tuesday night, Governor JB Pritzker gave a fiery speech taking direct aim at Bailey and playing to a potential national audience as he reportedly eyes a run for the White House in 2024.
Pritzker criticized Bailey’s appearance with former President Donald Trump last weekend, an appearance where Trump endorsed Bailey after polling had made it clear Bailey was in position to win the primary.
“Let me be clear, someone who seeks out and accepts the endorsement of a racist, misogynistic, homophobic, xenophobic, twice impeached former president does not deserve to come anywhere near this state’s highest office,” Pritzker said. “Darren Bailey cannot side with the insurrectionists at the Capitol, assert that the 2020 election was stolen, and say that women and their doctors should be jailed for having an abortion even in cases of rape and incest and expect to be handed the keys to the Governor’s Office.”
Bailey took aim at Pritzker, too, starting what is likely to be a war of words in the fall campaign.
“Here’s a tip and some advice for JB Pritzker: start packin’, friend,” Bailey said. “Because on November 8th, you’re fired.”