SE Illinois News

Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Louisville) claimed victory at the polls to face Gov. J.B. Pritzker in November, and many of his supporters are celebrating.

“He won,” Rep. Adam Niemerg (R-Teutopolis) wrote on Facebook with an image of him with Bailey.

Bailey beat five other Republicans in the June primary.

The Peoria Journal Star shows Bailey topping the Republican slate of candidates for governor, with 97.08% of votes counted. He received 453,469 votes or 57.7%.

The Chicago Sun-Time reported on former President Trump's endorsement of Bailey, and Bailey's reaction.

“I’ve made a promise to President Trump that in 2024, Illinois will roll the red carpet out for him because Illinois will be ready for President Trump,” Bailey said.

Neimerg spent some of his summers so far campaigning for Bailey.

 In late June, Niemerg joined Bailey's campaign bus tour. Niemerg posted on Facebook that, "It was my pleasure to spend last week campaigning for Bailey for governor."

Being the Republican nominee for governor, Bailey may face closer scrutiny from the presss. A recent Chicago Sun-Time editorial called for Bailey torelease his tax returns.

“No, Bailey isn’t under any legal obligation to make his tax returns public,” the editorial said. “There are no requirements for candidates and elected officials to do so. But if Bailey is serious about serving the public as governor, he ought to play ball."

Niemerg meanwhile, has called for lawmakers to return to Springfield to deal with questions about the state's energy supply in a recent Facebook post. 

“We need to get back to Springfield,” he told The Center Square. “We need to repeal the Green New Deal. We need to bring Ameren [an energy supplier] to the table and actually have a productive energy policy moving forward.”