Darren Bailey plans to run for governor for a second time in 2026, Capitol News Illinois confirmed with sources close to the campaign.
The former state senator and farmer from Clay County would become the highest-profile Republican to enter the race, having lost the 2022 campaign against Gov. JB Pritzker and a close primary race in 2024 against U.S. Rep. Mike Bost for a downstate congressional seat.
A formal announcement is expected next week. News of the planned announcement was first reported by NBC Chicago on Monday afternoon.
Bailey rose to statewide notoriety in 2020 as a state lawmaker who opposed mask mandates and other COVID-19 emergency actions early in the pandemic. He capitalized on his opposition to the Pritzker-imposed restrictions and ran for governor in 2022.
Bailey easily won the Republican primary that year with 57% of the vote. His campaign was indirectly helped by Pritzker, who ran TV ads during the primary calling Bailey “too conservative” for Illinois, which helped to boost his credentials with Republican voters.
But Pritzker handily won a second term with 55% of the vote, defeating Bailey by 13 points in a race that the Associated Press called for Pritzker just moments after the polls closed. Pritzker dumped millions of dollars into his campaign as Bailey struggled to compete despite receiving some financial help from Lake Forest billionaire Dick Uihlein.
Bailey then tried to unseat Bost in 2024 in the 12th Congressional District but came up about 2,700 votes short. While he received President Donald Trump’s endorsement in the governor’s race, Trump endorsed Bost over Bailey in 2024.
New running mate
Bailey plans to enlist Cook County Republican Party Chair Aaron Del Mar as his running mate, a source said.
Del Mar ran for lieutenant governor in 2022 alongside Gary Rabine, receiving 6.5% of the vote.
Aaron Del Mar, chair of the Cook County Republican Party, is pictured at the Republican State Central Committee’s August meeting. He will be the running mate for former state Sen. Darren Bailey as he tries to run again for governor, sources told Capitol News Illinois.
Del Mar was elected to lead the Cook County Republican Party earlier this year, marking the second time he has held that role after previously leading the party in the early 2010s. He is also a member of the Illinois GOP’s State Central Committee and is Palatine Township’s highway commissioner.
Outside of politics, Del Mar has led a career in business and as an entrepreneur.
Bailey ran in 2022 with Stephanie Trussell, a conservative radio host from the west suburbs.
Bailey’s message
It’s unclear how Bailey plans to overcome his 2022 loss and what message he will take to voters in 2026.
He focused much of his 2022 campaign on crime and public safety, criticizing the SAFE-T Act and bashing Chicago as a “hellhole.”
State Sen. Darren Bailey appears at a news conference alongside law enforcement officers during his 2022 campaign for governor. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Jerry Nowicki)
The message failed to gain traction with voters, however, as Democrats focused heavily on abortion rights in the months after Roe v. Wade was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Facebook has been Bailey’s primary communication platform to voters, and in recent weeks, he has focused many of his posts on Pritzker and various ways he believes the governor has failed Illinois. Like other Republicans, Bailey has criticized Pritzker’s growing national profile.
“In 2026, we have the chance to stop him,” Bailey wrote in a post Monday. “But it will take ALL of us. Every Illinoisan who knows we deserve better. Together, we can end JB’s presidential ambitions before they even begin and finally turn Illinois around.”
Read more: New Republican to run for Illinois governor as election season begins
Bailey would become at least the fourth candidate to enter the Republican primary for governor, which has been slowing taking shape this fall. DuPage County Sheriff Jim Mendrick, Lake Forest resident Joe Severino, and conservative media writer Ted Dabrowski have also formed committees to run for governor.
Antioch Mayor Scott Gartner released a statement Sunday saying he was also considering running for governor as a Republican.
Pritzker is running for a rare third term as governor amid speculation he will also run for president in 2028. Candidates must turn their petitions in to the State Board of Elections by the end of October.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
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