Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin | City of Aurora
Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin | City of Aurora
Republican gubernatorial candidate state Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia) got in on the barb-trading early as Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin announced his candidacy for the GOP gubernatorial nod.
Irvin on Jan. 17 announced his run for governor with state Rep. Avery Bourne (R-Pawnee) as his running mate for lieutenant governor.
Bailey has been crisscrossing the state attending conservative gatherings since announcing his run for the office nearly a year ago in Februrary 2021.
“I suspect career Democrat Richard Irvin will be very popular among the establishment and weak-kneed Republicans who voted with Madigan and Pritzker to raise your taxes. They will attempt to mislead you because the political elites fear you standing up. Don’t be fooled,” Bailey said in a tweet.
Irvin, 51, has been the mayor of Aurora since 2017 and was re-elected in 2021. He is seeking to become the first Black governor of Illinois.
Republican insiders have noted Irvin — although running as a Republican — voted in Democratic primaries in 2014 and the last two presidential elections cycles in 2016 and 2020.
Irvin is running as a tough-on-crime former prosecutor, something that will resonate in the state that has been beset by huge spikes in violent crime.
He is being backed by billionaire hedge fund founder Ken Griffin, a critic of Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
In November, Griffin said he would be backing a Republican candidate in a state where Democrats hold the majority in the House and Senate. The Chicago Sun Times reported Griffin said he would spend $300 million on the race, which far surpasses the combined amount spent – roughly $270 million – in the 2018 contest, the most expensive governor’s race up until this election cycle.
Griffin similarly spent $53.75 million in 2020 to defeat Pritzker’s failed flat-rate tax hike.
Pritzker recently gave himself a $90 million campaign donation, setting the stage for huge expenditures in the 2022 race.
Irvin will face Bailey, businessman Gary Rabine, former state senate member Paul Schimpf and tech entrepreneur Jesse Sullivan for the Republican nomination.
The filing deadline for candidates is March 14 with more hopefuls poised to enter the election.
The Illinois gubernatorial primary is set for Jun 28.
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