Bailey lands GOP governor nomination, teeing up a repeat with Pritzker

A déjà vu governor’s race awaits Illinois after former 2022 gubernatorial GOP nominee Sen. Darren Bailey prevailed in the Republican primary Tuesday, according to unofficial results.

The Associated Press called the race for Bailey at 8:35 p.m.

With 40% of ballots counted, Bailey of rural Xenia had received nearly 50% of the unofficial vote tallies compared with about 32% for former Wirepoints chief Ted Dabrowski of Wilmette.

Meanwhile, video gambling magnate Rick Heidner of Barrington Hills had garnered about 10% of votes and DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick of Woodridge had 8.8%.

Bailey will again face Democrat Gov. JB Pritzker in the general election. In the 2022 gubernatorial election, Bailey lost to Pritzker with 42.4% of the vote despite an endorsement from President Donald Trump.

Bailey said he learned from his mistakes, which included referring to Chicago as a “hell hole.” The inclusion of running mate Aaron Del Mar, Cook County Republican Party chair, was viewed as a plus for attracting suburban votes.

But early in the primary, doubts rose if Bailey would stay in the race after his son, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren died in a Montana helicopter crash on Oct. 22, 2025.

On Nov. 10, Bailey and his wife announced that “after lot of prayer and reflection, Cindy and I have decided we’re staying in this race for governor, not for politics but for every family trying to make it in a state that’s lost its way.”

With that tragic backdrop, the primary was civil with the candidates, who all have conservative bona fides, piling on Pritzker. But some frictions emerged during a forum that Bailey declined to attend.

“It’s not good that he’s not here,” Dabrowski said of Bailey at a Fox 32 debate Feb. 24. “And he criticized (2022 front-runner) Richard Irvin four years ago for not showing up on the debate stage.”