As GOP Race Approaches Final Week, Dabrowski Claims Bailey Can't Win in November
GOP gubernatorial candidate Ted Dabrowski speaks at a candidate forum in Tazewell County in January. (Photo: Chicago Tribune)
The general consensus among Republicans and political insiders around the stat is that former State Sen. and 2022 GOP nomination for Governor, Darren Bailey, is likely to sail to the GOP nomination for Governor in under two weeks.
But perhaps his most serious primary challenger says Bailey’s support is overblown and Bailey won’t be able to win a general election against Gov. JB Pritzker.
We reported Thursday Bailey’s internal polling showed the perceived frontrunner at nearly 60% two weeks from primary day.
Former Illinois Policy Institute staffer Ted Dabrowski, who founded the Wirepoints conservative research site and now GOP candidate for Governor, disputed the contention Bailey has the nomination in the bag.
“I don’t buy it. Darren Bailey got 58% of the vote in the last primary election [in 2022] when he had over $50 million in support from Dick Uihlein. And he had the $34 million support from [Gov.] Pritzker and the Democratic Governors Association,” Dabrowski said. “This time around, I think he’s raised around $300,000. There’s there’s a dramatic difference. There’s just no support for that campaign. “Of course, he’s got the name ID from the old campaign from 2022. But I think people are looking for an alternative.”
While Dabrowski didn’t share any of his polling numbers, he pointed to his fundraising, ads, and Republican organization endorsements as reason to believe he is in a position to win.
Dabrowski is also trying to make an electability argument to Republicans, trying to convince voters he’s the only potential GOP nominee that can beat JB Pritzker in November.
“I remind people that if you want to beat Pritzker, you can vote for whoever you like [in the primary], right? But if you want to beat Pritzker, then you gotta vote for somebody who’s electable,” Dabrowski said. “If you think about it, to beat Pritzker, you’ve got to build a coalition. And that coalition has got to be a new type of coalition. It can’t be a Republican coalition only, it’s got to attract people who are disenfranchised, who are sick of the Democrats or sick of Brandon Johnson, sick of Pritzker, maybe voted for Pritzker twice, but say, ‘hey, the guy’s extreme,’ or ‘he hasn’t cut taxes’ to come to our side.”
Dabrowski blamed Pritzker for many of the state’s issues, including the ongoing battle to keep the Chicago Bears in the state of Illinois.
“This is a problem of Pritzker’s making. This is his seven years of management. The Bears now have a choice to leave. I can’t imagine that they would ever thought of leaving. But that’s how destructive it’s been. That’s the big problem. So you have to solve the bigger problem,” Dabrowski said. “I would support them on infrastructure, this public infrastructure that everybody benefits from. [But] our taxpayers have just gotten whacked over and over. We can help the Bears directly when we do a mega deal for Illinois residents. Pritzker’s not talking about a freeze for Illinois. He’s not talking about tax relief. Why are we talking about tax relief for big companies when we’re not talking about tax relief for everyday Illinoisans who are just being squeezed out of their homes with the highest property taxes in the country?”
Dabrowski kept up the theme, blaming Pritzker for a multitude of issues facing the state, including property taxes, pensions, and ICE raids in Chicago last fall.
Dabrowski is one of four Republican candidates on the ballot for the GOP nomination for Governor March 17.
Here’s the most recent episode of The Illinoize Podcast with Ted Dabrowski and former Rep. Mark Batinick:
