Former gubernatorial candidate and staunch conservative Darren Bailey launched a repeat campaign Thursday and once again chose a suburban running mate.

The downstate Republican farmer and former state senator’s pick for lieutenant governor — Cook County Republican Party Chairman Aaron Del Mar of Palatine — makes for a marked contrast.

“We’re putting our differences and egos aside for the greater good of Illinois,” Del Mar said.

In announcing their campaign at the Drake Hotel in Oak Brook, the ticket focused on the economy, crime, education and Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker, who defeated Bailey handily in 2022.

Bailey described himself as “a conservative who will never back down,” and said he and wife, Cindy, “prayed long and hard about this decision.”

“We believe this, that the time for action is now. Illinois cannot survive another four years under this failed governor, our families cannot afford it, our freedoms cannot endure it.”

Bailey campaigned for governor in the 2022 election with running mate Stephanie Trussell, a conservative radio host from Lisle. Del Mar is an Illinois Republican State Central Committee member who ran as lieutenant governor on a ticket with businessman Gary Rabine the same year.

While Del Mar is moderate on a number of social issues, Bailey sued the state over COVID-19 masks in 2020, opposes abortion except to save the life of the mother, and gained the endorsement of President Donald Trump.

“Darren and I are both going to stick to our true identities and who we are,” Del Mar told the Daily Herald earlier Thursday. “What we’re concentrating on is the 80% of things we both agree on.

“The way that taxes have been rising, the way that utility bills have been rising. Every other day there’s a new tax that’s burdening the residents of Illinois and it’s not just suburban and it’s not just southern, it’s the whole state.”

Before an appreciative crowd in Oak Brook, “no one should be paying more in property taxes than in they do in their mortgages,” Bailey said. “But guess what, families are.”

In his first gubernatorial bid, Bailey drew criticism for calling Chicago a “hell hole.”

Del Mar told Bailey, “there’s no more no flame throwers any more. Chicago is not a hell hole.”

“If we want to get suburban moms to vote for us, if we want to get urban area people that don’t care about a lot of social stuff — they just want to make sure that they can live in a good, safe place — that’s what we need to target our messaging to,” Del Mar.

At the same time, Del Mar said he’s learning a lot about farming economics and downstate priorities from Bailey who lives in Xenia. “It’s very unconventional but it works,” Del Mar said.

Other Republican candidates in the primary are DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick, Ted Dabrowski of Wilmette and former congressional hopeful Joe Severino of Lake Forest. Antioch Mayor Scott Gartner has said he is “seriously considering” entering the race.

Outside the Drake, Democratic Party of DuPage County members protested.

“We don’t think his values are the values of DuPage,” said DPDC Chair Reid McCollum, adding Bailey is opposed to collective bargaining and workers’ rights, is against reproductive rights, and “to my knowledge has never said a negative about the president who’s leading us into authoritarianism and ignoring the rule of law.”

https://www.dailyherald.com/20250925/illinois-state-politics/bailey-jumps-into-the-governors-race-for-a-second-time-with-palatines-del-mar/