Trump-Endorsed Darren Bailey to Face Pritzker in Illinois Governor Election

Trump-Endorsed Darren Bailey on June 28 won the six-way Illinois Republican gubernatorial primary election. In the fall, he will be facing Governor J.B. Pritzker (a Democrat).

Bailey drew 57 percent of the vote as of 10: 57 p.m. on Tuesday, easily defeating the other Republicans in the race.

An third-generation farmer, Bailey is a two-term senator from the State of Texas. His conservative platform seeks to completely free the state form COVID restrictions and protect the rights and freedoms of unborn children.

A staunch opponent of Pritzker’s COVID orders, Bailey filed the first state lawsuit challenging Governor Pritzker’s pandemic executive order and received a temporary restraining or.

He also has long been critical of the Chicago Democratic Machine’s excessive influence over state politics. Bailey, who signed a resolution to expel Chicago from Illinois in 2012, is now running to rescue the biggest city in the Midwest. According to speeches on the campaign trail, Bailey calls for the elimination of destructive liberal ideas.

Two days prior to the primary, ex-President Donald Trump supported Bailey during a rally in Mendon for U.S. Rep. Mary Miller. Bailey expressed his support for an 2024 Trump presidency run in return.

According to the Illinois Board of Elections campaign filings,

Bailey was awarded $9 million from Republican billionaire Richard Uihlein. This is the largest portion of his campaign funding.

Bailey was also helped by the Uihlein-supported, independent expenditure committee “People Who Play By the Rules.” These committees are required to act separately from the candidates.

Uihlein donated $8 million to this committee. These expenditures were all for communications (mailers and TV ads) that opposed Richard Irvin’s one-time frontrunner, according to state filings.

Meanwhile multiple media outlets have reported that the Pritzker-supported Democratic Governors Associations spent millions of dollars independent to support Bailey. The reasoning being that Pritzker would easily defeat pro-Trump Bailey’s in a blue state such as Illinois.

Richard Irvin was the mayor of the second-largest state city. He is a former prosecutor and ran on a moderate Republican platform in order to reduce crime, balance state finances, and rid the state of corruption.

Irvin doesn’t publicly endorse Trump, unlike Bailey. Although Irvin was repeatedly pressed on the campaign trail about his vote, he did not reveal who he voted in the 2016 or 2020 presidential election.

Irvin received a whopping $50 million from Illinois’s richest man and mega Republican donor Ken Griffin, according to filings with the state. According to state filings, the Irvin campaign was run by the same group that elected Bruce Rauner (moderate Republican) as Illinois governor in 2015..

Irvin was a longtime frontrunner up until May. However, his ratings declined significantly in the final stretch of the primary race. Pritzker’s ad campaign against Irvin cost tens to millions. Numerous inconsistencies between Irvin’s records as a mayoral candidate and his campaign stances surfaced. Local media also reported Irvin’s involvement in an assault case against his girlfriend.

Weeks After Irvin’s drop in polls Griffin announced that Citadel, his multi-national hedge fund company was being moved from Chicago to Miami.

The six-way GOP primary included Jesse Sullivan (Venture Capitalist), Gary Rabine (Businessman), and Max Solomon (Private Attorney).

Gov. Pritzker was not challenged in the Democratic primary. Pritzker, a billionaire family member who owns Hyatt hotels, contributed $90 millions to his campaign for reelection in January according to a quarterly report by the Illinois Board of Elections.