Illinois governor candidates republicans

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Gov. JB Pritzker has won a second term as Illinois governor, defeating Republican Darren Bailey.

The Associated Press called the race for Pritzker about nine minutes after polls closed. The governor appears to have won by margins akin to those he beat Bruce Rauner with in 2018/

The win capped a race characterized by nearly constant acrimony and outsized spending. Pritzker first won political office in 2018 when he took the governor's seat. His reelection win was buoyed by a campaign on fiscal stability and taxpayer relief. Bailey is a southern Illinois farmer and conservative supporter of former President Donald Trump. Pritzker is a billionaire equity investor and philanthropist who called Bailey "too extreme" for Democrat-heavy Illinois.

Pritzker thanked a raucous roomful of supporters, telling them, "Thank you for placing your trust in me to carry out this mission for four more years. I won't let you down!"

WATCH: Gov. Pritzker thanks supporters at victory rally

Pritzker called on supporters to work with him, be bold and not shy away from Democratic values on jobs, health care and women's rights. His biggest cheer during his speech came when addressing abortion.

"Let me be even clearer: Anyone who thinks that they can come into this state and try to force some right-wing MAGA war on a woman's body, you will never get an inch of Illinois," Pritzker said.

WATCH: Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton thanks supporters at victory rally

The Pritzker campaign released a statement, saying in part, "Governor Pritzker and Lt. Governor Stratton are beyond grateful to each and every voter who turne

For related races, see 2022 United States gubernatorial elections.

The 2022 Illinois gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 2022, to elect the governor of Illinois, concurrently with the 2022 Illinois general election. Gubernatorial candidates ran on tickets with candidates for lieutenant governor. The incumbent governor and lieutenant governor, first-term Democrats JB Pritzker and Juliana Stratton, sought re-election together against Republican nominees Illinois State Senator Darren Bailey and his running mate Stephanie Trussell.

On election day, Pritzker won re-election with 54.9% of the vote, 0.4% higher than his 2018 performance, and the best raw vote percentage for a Democrat for governor since 1960. However, his margin of victory declined from 15.7% in 2018 to 12.5% in 2022. Pritzker's victory was once again the result of a strong performance in the Chicago metropolitan area—containing a majority of the state's population—winning a lopsided victory in strongly Democratic Cook County, the home of Chicago, as well as winning all but one of the neighboring collar counties. Bailey improved upon former Republican governor Bruce Rauner's performance in 2018 by just under 4%, largely due to the absence of a strong third-party conservative candidate that appeared in 2018. Subsequently, Bailey was able to flip the counties of Alexander, Fulton, Jackson, Knox, and Winnebago, which Pritzker had previously won, while Pritzker managed to flip McLean county, marking the first time since 1948 that it has voted for a Democrat in a gubernatorial election.

Pritzker was the first Illinois governor to serve a full term and be reelected for a second since Rod Blagojevich in 2006. If Pritzker serves the entirety of his term, he will become the first Democratic governor in the state's history to serve two full four-year terms, as every other Democratic governor had either been impeached, died or resigned before finishing th

American state election

For related races, see 2026 United States gubernatorial elections.

The 2026 Illinois gubernatorial election will be held on November 3, 2026, to elect the Governor of Illinois. This election will coincide with various other federal and state elections, including the U.S. Senate elections and U.S. House elections.

GovernorJB Pritzker was re-elected in 2022 with 54.9% of the vote. Because Illinois does not have gubernatorial term limits in its Constitution, he is eligible to run for re-election to a third term and has publicly expressed interest in doing so. If Pritzker decides against running, potential Democratic candidates include Former U.S. Ambassador to Japan & Mayor ofChicagoRahm Emanuel.

Potential Republican candidates include former state senator and 2022 gubernatorial nominee Darren Bailey, former Cook County Republican PartyChair Aaron Del Mar, and Republican national committeeman Richard Porter.

Background

Governor JB Pritzker, a member of the Democratic Party, has been in office since 2019 and successfully won re-election in 2022. The political climate in Illinois has continued to favor Democrats in statewide elections, but Republicans remain competitive, especially in rural and suburban areas.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Publicly expressed interest

Potential

Republican primary

Candidates

Publicly expressed interest

Potential

General election

Predictions

See also

References

MILWAUKEE — U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida was taunting an old Capitol Hill nemesis on the crowded floor of the Republican National Convention when an Illinois Republican Party official with a low profile outside of state GOP circles stepped in.

“Shut up, don’t be an a—hole,” Illinois Republican National Committeeman Richard Porter said to Gaetz, who was interrupting an interview being given by the man he helped oust as House speaker, former California U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy.

“Dude, I don’t even know who you are, man,” the boisterous congressman said to Porter, who quickly responded, “It doesn’t f—ing matter who I am. Don’t be an a—hole,” before Gaetz walked away.

Video of Tuesday night’s confrontation has since gotten more than a half a million views on the social media platform X, at least temporarily raising Porter’s profile — one online commentator flippantly calling for him to be the next House speaker.

That’s not likely to happen, but Porter may have designs on public office in Illinois. During this week’s convention, Porter has been among a handful of names floated by some Illinois top Republicans as possible GOP candidates for governor in 2026 as the state party looks to reinvent itself with new leadership after years of losing ground to Democrats.

It won’t be easy for Republicans and they know it. Democrats control all three branches of state government. On the federal level, just three of the state’s 17 congressmen are Republican, and both U.S. senators are Democrats.

But reflecting the rah-rah atmosphere of a national political convention, newly elected state Republican Chair Kathy Salvi said, “The Illinois Republican Party apparatus will be out to win in the general election in 2026.”

Illinois delegates and other in Milwaukee agreed that a viable GOP candidate for governor needs to figure out how to unify moderate Republicans from the Chicago area and with increasingly conservative counterparts in rural parts of the state. The party’s strugg