\u201cThe big issues are certainly different in Cook County and Chicago than they are in the rest of the state,\u201d said Bailey, flanked by his running mate outside a southern Illinois restaurant, the first of three stops across the state to formally declare his run for governor. \u201cSo I think Pritzker has helped us immensely with his failed, disastrous policies from north to south.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know, one of the things that you can see about this campaign that\u2019s going to be different than four years ago is that we\u2019re combining north and south,\u201d said Del Mar, head of the Cook County Republican Party<\/a> who hails from northwest suburban Palatine. \u201cDarren has brought me on specifically to talk about the issues that are happening in urban areas and the collar counties, as well as suburban voters, and that\u2019s who we\u2019re going to be targeting.\u201d<\/p>\n The uniqueness of the geographically split ticket strategy was immediately evident. After the pair while downstate fielded a couple of Chicago-related questions from the news media, one reporter countered by asking what they\u2019d be \u201cbringing to southern Illinois.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s a Darren question,\u201d Del Mar replied.<\/p>\n When the pair ultimately made their way to the Chicago area Thursday evening for the third and final stop on their tour, they were greeted by a crowd of about 30 protesters outside The Drake Oak Brook in DuPage County. There, the group, including the head of the DuPage Democrats, held signs and neon poster boards with large block letters reading, \u201cNO MAGA IL GOV.\u201d<\/p>\n Inside a crowded hotel banquet hall before more than 100 supporters, there was little evidence of a newer approach with an introductory speaker saying, \u201cEven if Darren is crucified for it, he will not stop until we make Illinois great again.\u201d And Bailey himself sounded similar themes to his 2022 campaign, focused on economic issues and crime, and promising to \u201ckeep harmful content out of the classroom,\u201d without specifying what he considered \u201charmful.\u201d<\/p>\n Bailey\u2019s announcement Thursday marks the third consecutive major race for the ex-state lawmaker.<\/p>\n He narrowly lost<\/a> his Republican primary challenge last year against veteran U.S. Rep. Mike Bost of Murphysboro for the GOP nomination in the 12th Congressional District, which covers nearly the bottom third of the state.<\/p>\n Key to Bost\u2019s victory was an endorsement from Donald Trump<\/a> months before the Republican president was elected to his second term in the White House. But Trump has also supported Bailey in the past, endorsing him<\/a> over five other candidates when Bailey soundly won the 2022 GOP nomination for governor<\/a>.<\/p>\n But Bailey lost to Pritzker<\/a> 55% to 42% in the general election after the Democratic governor, a billionaire, helped engineer Bailey\u2019s GOP primary victory by funneling millions of dollars of ads to the Democratic Governors Association, which promoted the Republican\u2019s conservatism. Pritzker\u2019s camp believed Bailey to be the easiest candidate to beat.<\/p>\n Democratic groups on Thursday responded to Bailey\u2019s announcement by using a familiar term from the last governor\u2019s race, describing him as \u201cextreme\u201d in his views.<\/p>\n By entering the governor\u2019s race again, Bailey will automatically have more name recognition among Republican primary voters than the rest of the early field. Other contenders include DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick<\/a> and Ted Dabrowski<\/a> of Wilmette. A\u00a0former vice president of the right-leaning Illinois Policy Institute and former president of the conservative-leaning research and advocacy group Wirepoints, Dabrowski has already contributed more than $250,000<\/a> to his campaign and is likely Bailey\u2019s most prominent opponent.<\/p>\n But it is questionable how the Bailey-Del Mar ticket\u2019s upstate-downstate strategy will work to blunt some of Bailey\u2019s positions, particularly in the Chicago suburbs, where moderate women are a key demographic for winning statewide<\/a>.<\/p>\n Bailey\u2019s rural, evangelical Christian-rooted campaign and his allegiance to Trump clashed with suburban voters, particularly his opposition to abortion rights. In his first bid for governor, for instance, he compared the deaths from abortion to the millions of Jews killed during the Holocaust in World War II.<\/p>\n![\"Darren](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/CTC-L-bailey-launch-suburbs001.jpg\")
Darren Bailey, center, with running mate Aaron Del Mar and wife Cindy, celebrates his gubernatorial candidacy on Sept. 25, 2025, at the Drake Hotel Oak Brook. (Chris Sweda\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n![\"James](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/ctc-l-bailey-launch-downstate16.jpg\")
James Patrick of Williamson County listens as former state Sen. Darren Bailey announces his Republican primary bid for governor with running mate Aaron Del Mar, Sept. 25, 2025, at Turner\u2019s Table in Carterville. (Brian Cassella\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n
![\"Aaron](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/ctc-l-bailey-launch-downstate32.jpg\")
Aaron Del Mar, right, greets people after announcing his bid for lieutenant governor with former state Sen. Darren Bailey in the Republican primary, Sept. 25, 2025, at Turner\u2019s Table in Carterville. (Brian Cassella\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n