FIRST ON FOX – Former Republican gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey is launching his bid for Congress in Illinois’ 12th District against Republican incumbent Mike Bost, R-Ill.
“It’s time for a change,” Bailey told Fox News Digital. “We need more people to stand up and stop the compromise that is destroying our values.”
Bailey says he can beat Bost through a “grassroots movement” he built during his 2022 gubernatorial bid, which he lost to Democrat JB Pritzker. The southern Illinois farmer also calls Bost “a career politician” who panders to “the left’s agenda.”
“This is not a race,” Bailey said. “I’ve been there working and fighting the adversities and failures of career politicians, and I’m tired of it.”
State Sen. Darren Bailey, a Republican challenger for governor, gestures during a debate with Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
ILLINOIS DEMOCRATIC GOV. JB PRITZKER RE-ELECTED, DEFEAT REPUBLICAN DARREN BAILEY
Bailey and Bost have been endorsed by former President Donald Trump in their previous political campaigns. However, Bailey says he will work hard to get Trump’s endorsement in the primary.
“I’m in communication [with Trump]. I’ve had conversations with him in the last few months and my goal is to prove that I’m the fighter,” Bailey said.
Bailey also said Trump asked him if Mike Bost was “a good guy” a year ago.
“I said, here’s the deal. He was an MP the whole time you were president. And the fact that you don’t know if he’s the good guy or not, that should speak volumes,” Bailey said.
Illinois gubernatorial hopeful Darren Bailey waves to Donald Trump after receiving an endorsement during a Save America rally with the former president at the Adams County Fairgrounds on June 25, 2022 in Mendon, Ill. (Michael B. Thomas/Getty Images)
However, the former president called Bost a “proud ally” and a “fantastic representative” in his 2022 endorsement. Bost won the seat by 50 points.
“[Bost] he knows there’s a threat, and he’s certainly become more conservative over the last year than ever before,” Bailey said.
Trump won Illinois’ 12th district in 2020 with 56% of the vote.
Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill., on the House steps of the U.S. Capitol on Dec. 6, 2022. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
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The southern Illinois farmer also says it’s no wonder his opponents are outspending them after taking on JB Pritzker’s $152 million re-election bid.
“I don’t foresee it matching, dollar for dollar by any means, but nobody beat me,” Bailey said. “I’ve spent my whole life being a farmer, getting up early, working. And I will.”
The primary election for Illinois’ 12th congressional district is March 19, 2024.
Lacey Christ is a producer for “Fox News @ Night.”
