Bailey's Approach May Be Softer, But Will 2026 Be Any Different?
Former Sen. and gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey leaves the Billy Goat Tavern in Chicago in December, where he taped a series of media interviews. (Photo: Chicago Tribune)
Governor JB Pritzker’s nearly 13-point victory over then-Sen. Darren Bailey in the 2022 race for Governor served as a rejection of Bailey’s über conservative, rabble rousing, Trump-style politics and a specific repudiation of his message and style in the city of Chicago and suburbs.
But Bailey is back in 2026, and polls show him a clear frontrunner for the GOP nomination for Governor again, setting up a rematch with Governor JB Pritzker.
It’s left many Republicans and political observers wondering: how will this time be any different?
“So, I think my mindset is different,” Bailey said in an extensive interview for The Illinoize podcast. “I think it has been changed. I want to be known for somebody that brings unity. I want to bring people together. I understand I’ve been divisive in the past, and that’s doing no one any good. I see what’s taking place in in DC. I see what’s taking place in Springfield right now. All we’re doing is spinning our wheels and living in our own echo chambers, and we’re not accomplishing anything for the people. That’s probably one of the big things that I began to realize.”
Bailey rose to notoriety among conservatives beginning during the pandemic with legal challenges to Governor JB Pritzker’s COVID-19 executive orders and refusal to wear a mask on the House floor.
His hard-charging style built a movement on the right four years ago. But are those voters still motivated for him today?
“It’s there and it’s there even stronger than it has been before, which, honestly, I am surprised about,” Bailey said. “[People] want someone they can trust. And I hope, I believe, they can trust me because I’ve usually did what I said I was going to do. And I tried to do it in a manner to represent the people I served. But not only that, I’ll stand up for what’s right. You know, I’ve got people in my camp that just, you know, want me to punch everybody in the nose and call them out. And I’m like, no, I can’t do that. I want to be the person that stops this divisiveness, brings people to the table and has that conversation.”
Bailey did not attempt to distance himself from President Donald Trump, who endorsed Bailey in 2022 but has poor poll numbers in Chicago and the suburbs. He also stood behind ICE and DHS actions in Chicago last fall, blaming the need for action by the federal forces on Governor Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson.
“If I were Governor, ICE wouldn’t need to be here. JB Pritzker and Brandon Johnson [aren’t] doing their jobs. It’s government’s job to protect people. And they’re not doing it here in Illinois. So at the federal level, they must come in and do something,” Bailey said. “I lay 100% of the blame for everything that took place at the feet of J.B. Pritzker and Brandon Johnson. JB Pritzker held back local and state law enforcement from being able to do their job. So the federal government came in because there were problems trying to figure out where these dangerous illegals are and trying to to apprehend and bring them in.”
Bailey also criticized Pritzker for waiting too long to strike a deal on a new stadium with the Chicago Bears, as the team ponders a move to Indiana.
“This is a conversation that should have been happening for the last several years. It’s embarrassing of what’s taking place right now,” Bailey said. “Chicago and Illinois cannot afford to lose the Bears, I know that. But if JB Pritzker and the legislature would have been more responsible with the money they’re spending the money that they received over the last seven years, we’d be sitting in the driver’s seat instead of Iowa and Indiana controlling our narrative.”
While Bailey is the odds-on favorite to win the GOP primary, he’s a serious underdog in a rematch with Pritzker. Bailey’s fundraising numbers have been poor and his top donor from 2022, conservative businessman Richard Uihlein, has given money to GOP candidate Ted Dabrowski, though, before Bailey got in the race. Add a bad year for Republicans nationwide to the mix and the GOP’s struggles in Chicago and the suburbs and logic shows a tough haul for Bailey.
But he remains confident.
“I think people are going to be kind of excited and surprised when they see the fundraising that’s taking place right now. Business is picking up again. The simple fact is that I am a late entrant to the race,” he said. “I believe this is going to work because Illinois cannot afford another four more years of JB Pritzker. We all know that on day one, that man is going to start running for president. I think we’ve got an opportunity to stop that dead in its tracks. And I personally believe we will.”
Here’s the most recent episode of The Illinoize Podcast with Sen. Darren Bailey and Capitol News Illinois reporter Ben Szalinski:
