Bailey Returns to Trail After Tragedy: "It Has Changed Me"
Former Sen. Darren Bailey, the 2022 GOP nominee for Governor, talks about his campaign for Governor. (Photo: Chicago Tribune)
Former Senator Darren Bailey, the GOP’s nominee for Governor in 2022 and a candidate for the nomination in 2026, is emerging back into public following a roughly six-week “pause” in his public appearances in the wake of a helicopter crash that killed his son, daughter-in-law, and two of his grandchildren in October.
We spoke to Bailey on the radio Tuesday about the struggles for his family, taking in his grandson, Finn, who was not on the helicopter with the rest of his family, and staying in the race for Governor.
Bailey said there’s a “void everyday” in his life following the tragedy, but he and his wife, Cindy, are focused on helping Finn readjust to life.
“It’s it has been a drastic change. Cindy probably [won’t] be with me as much as she had been in the past. So as she’s falling back into that mother role,” Bailey said. “We have the blessing of [an] amazing, amazing family. My other three children are pitching in.”
But, Bailey said he’s in an adjustment mode, too, like trying to learn the lingo of a 10-year-old.
“It’s hilarious that you mentioned that because Saturday I literally Googled “six seven,” Bailey said, referring to a saying among young people that essentially references nothing at all. “Like, what is that this all about? It just does a direct flashback with, with his dad and his younger brother Cole many, many years ago.I was like, what are you talking about? That makes no sense. Well, I found out that it was never supposed to make sense.”
There were reports Bailey had considered exiting the race following the tragedy, but he said Tuesday that wasn’t the case.
“I honestly never was [considering quitting.] You know, you see in the movies when terrible tragedies happen, just everything goes into slow motion. I’ve been journaling everything since this took place. And, and as I look back and and remember and consider the days, it’s just everything’s just all cloudy. It was like, ‘this can’t be real,” he said. “When I started this journey, I never had the desire. I always had the desire to be a servant. I love serving people, whether it was in the church, whether it was a school board member, whether it’s a here at Full Armor [Christian Academy, the school he co-founded.] From day one, this really was it was really about my family. It’s about my children, my grandchildren and being able to, uh, being able to someday say that I did something for you. That’s what this journey is about.”
But in the wake of the tragedy, Bailey says it has changed him as a person and a candidate.
“It has changed me. I began to realize, walking up and down the streets of Chicago [Monday], I believe it has heightened my sensitivity to compassion for people and maybe things I’ve said, maybe things I’ve done in the past that maybe rubbed somebody wrong,” Bailey said. “Maybe I didn’t care because I thought I was right. It is heightened my compassion for people who are hurting in Illinois, and that’s just not through a death or a loss of a loved one. It’s literally for for, you know, the homeless man that I saw walking down the street. I’ve looked at that in the past with pity and compassion, but there’s something within me that I’ve got to do. All that I can do to, to bring about what I believe can truly create some change. So I hope that that resonates in the days ahead.”
You can hear our conversation with Bailey here.
