Published on January 9, 2026 4:40 pm
Last Updated on January 9, 2026 4:40 pm
(AARON DEL MAR AND DARREN BAILEY IN EFFINGHAM FRIDAY)
Republican candidate for governor Darren Bailey and running mate Aaron Del Mar were in the Effingham area on Friday, little more than two months before the Illinois primary.
As the 2022 Republican nominee, Bailey has high name recognition and is leading the pack in polling.
Del Mar joins Bailey from his role as chairman of the Cook County Republican Party. He was born and raised in Chicago. Bailey coming from Xenia makes for some interesting dynamics between the candidates.
Add to that, Del Mar wanted to run for governor this election. When he was first approached about running with Bailey, Del Mar said “no” since he has run previously for Lieutenant Governor, and since Bailey had in previous campaigns endorsed Del Mar’s opponents.
Things changed, though, when the two sat down together and found they had much more in common than they thought. Those things include Bailey’s business background and Del Mar’s values.
Another thing cited by Bailey is that when four of his family members were killed in the fall in a helicopter crash in Montana and he and wife Cindy put their campaign activities on hold, he (Del Mar) “kept it going”.
The two focused on their “Job One”…defeat J.B. Pritzker in his re-election bid.
Bailey termed Pritzker a “tyrant” that if re-elected “will completely destroy this state”.
Del Mar is terming his opponents for the Republican nomination his “co-competitors”, saying after the primary, regardless who gets the nomination, it needs to be “all hands on deck” to defeat Pritzker.
