Illinois’ Republican primary for governor is growing expensive.
Former State Sen. Darren Bailey entered the 2026 governor’s race late last month hoping to build on his dominating performance in the 2022 primary.
He went on to lose to Governor JB Pritzker by 13 points in the general election. But he will have to do it without the support of Lake Forest billionaire Dick Uihlein , who had backed him last cycle.
He is now backing conservative researcher Ted Dabrowski in next year’s race that currently stands at five candidates.
According to quarterly fundraising and spending reports that campaigns filed with the Illinois State Board of Elections on Wednesday, Dabrowski raised $1.5 million since forming his campaign on Aug. 20.
