Among the Republican frontrunners is state Conservative Sen. Darren Bailey, a farmer who received the approval of former President Donald Trump on Saturday. Bailey raised his profile across the state during the pandemic against Pritzker’s measures for COVID-19. He sued Pritzker for a stay-at-home order issued by the governor and was ousted from the legislature for refusing to wear a mask. Pritzker, heiress to the Hyatt Hotel, and the Union of Democratic Governors have spent a lot of money on advertising to help Bailey win the GOP by-elections, including ads that say he is “100% in favor of life.” While those messages have raised Bailey’s position in Republican voters, they are likely to hurt him in a general election in a place where Democrats control all state offices and voters have twice rejected Trump by double digits. Bailey rejected the idea that he could not win and criticized the “established Republicans” for contributing to decades of mismanagement in the state. “We will send a message to the Republican establishment that we will not be intimidated into sacrificing our principles to elect their candidates,” he told a crowd at a rally in Illinois this month. Republican Richard Irwin, a former attorney general who was the first black mayor of Illinois’ second-largest city, was considered a top candidate when he ran the race, with financial support from billionaire Ken Griffin. But despite Griffin sinking $ 50 million into Irwin’s campaign, he suffered damage from repeated attacks by his opponents, including Pritzker. Unlike Bailey and his four other opponents, Irwin refrained from talking about abortion or whether he voted for Trump. The mayor of Aurora focused on issues such as the Chicago crime and the legislation signed by Pritzker, which he said made policing more difficult. He said he was opposed to abortion, except in cases of rape or incest or to protect the mother’s life. Irvin also claimed that he was the only GOP candidate who could win Pritzker in November because he could win votes from Republicans, independents and some Democrats. “The reality is that I’m the candidate who can win this race and that ‘s why the attacks are coming,” Irvin said as he visited a manufacturing plant. The other Republican candidates are business owner Gary Rabine, venture capitalist Jesse Sullivan, former Sen. Paul Schimpf and lawyer Max Solomon. Pritzker, whose only challenger in the Democratic primary is Beverly Miles, has said he is not afraid of any opponent who will arrive in November. “I will face anyone on the other side of the aisle and we will win,” Pritzker said.
