Bailey seeks to distance himself from Trump, shore up Chicago area support in Illinois governor's race rematch with Pritzker
Fresh off his win in the Tuesday's primary election, Republican gubernatorial nominee Darren Bailey visited the Chicago suburbs on Wednesday, and said he'll be focusing on building support in the Chicago area during his rematch with Gov. JB Pritzker.
The Republican primary winners joined forces on Wednesday at a breakfast in Naperville, calling it a sign of party unity as they start to prepare for the general election to battle not just for victory in a deep blue state, but also to compete with billionaire Gov. JB Pritzker's coffers of cash.
Bailey a farmer and staunch conservative from downstate Xenia, who lost to Pritzker in the 2022 election and is now in a rematch after winning the GOP nomination in the governor's race on Tuesday, sought to distance himself from President Trump, who endorsed him in his last campaign, but has not backed him this time around.
"I've always tried to distinguish myself separately, and that continues to be a problem. I am my own person. There will be no outside influence," he said.
Bailey said he believes the Trump administration should have handled its immigration enforcement effort in Illinois much differently.
"But let's back up, and what should have been the biggest difference? The biggest difference is we don't need federal agents in the state of Illinois. We could have been dealing with this with state and local law enforcement, had JB Pritzker not gotten in the way and hindered that process," he added.
Bailey is now preparing for a rematch Pritzker, who's running for a third term, and Bailey said this time will be different.
"My goal is to earn the trust of the people of Cook County and the surrounding suburbs," he said.
And, unlike his last bid for governor, Bailey is not describing Chicago as a "hellhole."
"No. It's not. I've recanted that. Thank you," Bailey said.
Bailey is focusing his pitch to voters on making Illinois more affordable.
"Everyone's hurting financially. This isn't rocket science, and we know that JB Pritzker has created this disaster," he said.
Bailey also has a new lieutenant governor candidate at his side, with Cook County Republican Party chair Aaron Del Mar his running mate in this election, giving the GOP ticket a suburban-rural partnership.
"I'm a father of six. I'm a guy that probably shouldn't be standing up here, right? Grew up in the city of Chicago, moved to the suburbs, and my parents worked hard," Del Mar said.
Asked how they plan to compete with super PAC money and funding from Pritzker's sheer wealth, most Republican candidates admitted they couldn't compete, and said they planned to spend and spread their dollars more intentionally.
In an interview with CBS News Chicago on Wednesday, Pritzker shrugged off Bailey's criticism that he is a billionaire who can't relate to everyday Illinois residents.
"I want to remind you that Darren Bailey inherited his farm. He is a millionaire. So the idea that he's accusing others who are wealthy of being out of touch is kind of laughable. The reality is it isn't about how much money you have, it is about what your values are," the governor said.
Pritzker said his top goal for a third term is lowering costs for people in Illinois, "and making sure that they're earning enough to pay their bills."
"That's it. I mean, if you want to know what my number one priority is, it's that, and indeed we're doing that by making sure that we're expanding the amount of electricity that's being produced in our state," he added.
The governor has frequently been mentioned as a potential candidate for president in 2028, but asked when he plans to announce whether he'll enter that race, Pritzker said, "I don't think that I'll be considering anything like that."
"Right now, I'm focused on running for governor of Illinois. We have so much that we've accomplished and so much more yet to do," he said.