Illinois’ Republican primary for governor is growing expensive as the party’s 2022 nominee works to rebuild his campaign fund while another candidate receives support from one of the state’s wealthiest Republican donors.
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 Gov. 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.
A sizeable portion of that, $250,100, came from Dabrowski himself. Dabrowski, of Wilmette, is a former researcher for Wirepoints, a conservative media website dedicated to researching and proposing public policy solutions in Illinois.
Uihlein contributed $250,000 to Dabrowski on Sept. 25 — the day Bailey formally launched his campaign. Uihlein is worth an estimated $5.8 billion, according to Forbes, and is one of the only billionaires in Illinois who consistently supports Republican candidates. He gave Bailey $13 million in 2022.
Dabrowski also received seven other six-figure contributions from a roster of wealthy Chicago-area donors.
Bailey still waiting for cash infusion
Bailey, while the clear leader in name recognition, is still working to line up a substantial funding source after entering the race just days before the quarterly fundraising deadline.
Bailey reported raising $20,400 between entering the race on Sept. 25 and the end of the fundraising period on Sept. 30. But since then, Bailey has reported raising $39,000 from contributions of at least $1,000 or more, including a $30,000 from businessman Gary Rabine, who Bailey beat in the 2022 GOP primary.
The Save Illinois political action committee also paid $39,574 worth of expenses for the campaign. The PAC is run by Brett Corrigan, who was a member of Bailey’s 2022 campaign staff.
Corrigan abruptly left the campaign in September of that year over a human resources issue and considered seeking a legal settlement with Bailey, the Chicago Tribune reported. Corrigan attended Bailey’s private school and lived with Bailey’s family when he was younger, according to the Tribune.
Bailey has since praised Corrigan and the two appeared to be on better terms.
The PAC itself reported raising $155,900 from various donors.
Mendrick struggles to raise money
DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick spent more than twice as much as he raised during the last quarter. Records show he spent nearly $75,000 while raising about $35,200, leaving him with $60,838 in his campaign fund.
Much of his spending went toward staff salaries, printing costs for signs and mailers, and more than $14,000 to hold a fundraiser at River Forest Country Club.
Most of his fundraising came from various businesses and residents in DuPage County.
Other candidates
Rounding out the field, suburban attorney Max Solomon is mounting a second bid for the party’s nomination after receiving less than 1% of the vote in 2022. He has not raised any money recently and had just $5,000 in his account.
Joe Severino, a Lake Forest businessman who has posted on social media that he is running for governor, did not file required fundraising disclosures on Wednesday. He formed his campaign committee in August but filed a notice with the elections board on Thursday changing the committee’s start date to Oct. 1, which candidates are allowed to do if they don’t raise at least $5,000.
Another Republican, Antioch Mayor Scott Gartner, announced on Facebook earlier this week he will not run for governor after toying with the idea.
The winning Republican candidate on March 17 will face Pritzker in the general election, who spent more than $300 million of his own money on his first two races. Pritzker has not yet reported any cash contributions to his campaign for the 2026 race but spent $1.8 million in the last three months and has $661,400 on hand.
Comptroller primary
The Democratic primary for comptroller is also shaping up as contenders report six-figure fundraising hauls.
State Rep. Margaret Croke, D-Chicago, reported the largest fundraising haul for the quarter with a wide variety of support. Her $425,500 in funding included contributions from House Majority Leader Robyn Gabel, D-Evanston, Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke and numerous political action committees representing retailers, trial lawyers, bankers and other groups.
Croke is facing General Assembly colleagues Sen. Karina Villa, D-West Chicago, and Rep. Stephanie Kifowit, D-Oswego. Kifowit raised $130,700, though $70,000 came from her House campaign account.
Villa raised $239,500 and records show her competing with Croke for similar donors, including General Assembly colleagues, labor unions and political action committees for business groups. She also received financial support from Senate President Don Harmon and U.S. Rep. Delia Ramirez.
Champaign County Auditor George Danos is also running and raised $2,500.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.