Illinois governor election 2026 race between JB Pritzker, Darren Bailey gets under way as voters hit the polls
The 2026 Illinois governor election is under way on Election Day, as voters flocked to the poll to decide if they'll give incumbent Democrat JB Pritzker a third term in his rematch against Republican former state senator Darren Bailey.
If he wins, Pritzker would be the first Democrat elected to a third term as Illinois governor. He has a new running mate, deputy governor Christian Mitchell, who replaced Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton on the ballot after she won the primary for U.S. Senate in Illinois. Mitchell, who previous served three terms as an Illinois state representative, has been a deputy governor in Pritzker's administration since 2019.
Bailey previously lost in the race for governor against Pritzker in 2022. A farmer in southern Illinois, he made a name for himself as a state senator during the COVID-19 pandemic, when he unsuccessfully fought Pritzker's executive orders on masking in most public settings. In this second bid for governor, he is running with Cook County Republican Party Chairman Aaron Del Mar.
Pritzker has maintained a comfortable lead in the polls during his second run against Bailey. The two met in for their only debate on WTTW on Oct. 13.
"The governor came across as a governor. It was fact versus fiction. I thought the governor was very effective, and I give him credit for even doing it," said Pat Brady, former Illinois GOP head now with Mercury Public Affairs, after the debate aired.
Pritzker also garnered an endorsement from former Illinois House GOP leader Jim Durkin, who said he did so because he's "speaking for hundreds of thousands of Republicans who've lost faith in the party because of the extreme positions of MAGA and also Darren Bailey as our nominee for the second time."
"I'm a Republican. I will continue to vote Republican this November and also after that," Durkin todl Capitol News Insider. "But I cannot in good conscience allow for the keys of the governor's mansion to be given to Darren Bailey. So, if this is a bottoming out of the Republican Party, so be it."
President Trump endorsed Bailey for governor for the second time this year, saying, "Bailey is a very good candidate. He had a horrible tragedy. Amazing that he can go forward, but his a large portion of his family was wiped out. I've already endorsed him. I'm all for Bailey."
Bailey's son, daughter-in-law and their two children were killed in a helicopter accident in Montana in October 2025.
