Illinois 2026 GOP Primary for Governor Features Four Candidates and One Familiar Face but Big Donors Sit Out

Illinois 2026 GOP primary for governor features four candidates and one familiar face but big donors sit out

Four years ago, the six-way Republican primary for governor was impossible to miss. More than $100 million was spent largely on TV ads, including $35 million from Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker, who not-so-subtly steered GOP voters toward the candidate he deemed easiest to defeat that fall: Darren Bailey. A downstate farmer and former state lawmaker who leaned heavily on his evangelical Christian faith, Bailey won that primary — then lost to Pritzk…

Darren Bailey leads 4-way GOP race for governor – WGN (Chicago)

"With a well-known name statewide and a new campaign message, Darren Bailey is ahead in the four-way Republican primary race for Governor. Bailey has little to say about his opponents, instead looking ahead to November and what would be a rematch of the 2022 contest. This time, Bailey hopes for a different outcome."

Darren Bailey would be calamity for Illinois Republicans

Skipping debates, failure to fundraise, the list goes on and on Illinois Republicans have a remarkable talent for self-destruction, but they just might outdo themselves in the March 17 primary election. Darren Bailey, who squandered a fortune only to be obliterated by Governor J.B. Pritzker in 2022, still has name recognition which could be sufficient enough for him to win the primary.  However, with virtually no financial support this time, and…