At a meet-and-greet at a local restaurant, Darren Bailey led the audience in prayer and offered to recite the Pledge of Allegiance before spotting an American flag in the room. The American flag was visible on Brandon Baston’s T-shirt, and Bailey called on the 37-year-old Walmart employee to turn and face the audience.
Say what you want about Bailey, he’s adaptable. The 57-year-old southern Illinois farmer shot to statewide notoriety in 2020 when he filed a lawsuit challenging Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s coronavirus restrictions. He was a new Republican state representative. He rose to the Senate the following year and from there defeated better-funded candidates to win the 2022 Republican gubernatorial nomination. That earned him deep support from former President Donald Trump, but he lost to Mr. Pritzker in a state where Democrats effectively held power.
Now he’s challenging the five-term Republican, who is once again being forced to adjust after repeatedly announcing his support. Trump chose incumbent Congressman Mike Bost. Mr. Bailey was disappointed, saying Mr. Trump’s choice “didn’t move much,” but Mr. Trump’s “grassroots movement” also lags far behind Mr. Bost in the money race.
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The race could be seen as a gauge of President Trump’s influence in the run-up to the March 19 primary election. Mr. Bost is a popular incumbent, but he is running in a time and place where contempt for government is palpable. Establishment Republicans are angry that he has to face an internal challenge, and Mr. Bailey says this stance needs to be reversed. But it will be up to voters to decide whether adaptability and hard work are enough to overcome incumbency, tenure and support from Republican leadership.
“Being a farmer, you have good years and you have bad years. When you have a bad year, you buckle down and work harder,” Bailey said. “We keep going because people need encouragement. They’re frustrated, they’re worried. We bring hope, they fight for themselves. I know there are people out there.”
Bost, 64, of Murphysboro, is campaigning based on experience. The Marine Corps veteran chairs the House Veterans Affairs Committee and serves on the Agriculture, Transportation, and Infrastructure committees. He said his tenure will provide him with the know-how and relationships to help the district.
Congressional candidate Darren Bailey (right) leads the Pledge of Allegiance at a campaign stop with the help of Casey resident Brandon Baston and an American flag T-shirt on February 27, 2024 in Casey, Illinois. (AP Photo/John O’Connor)
“I’m in a place where I can serve the people of my district in the best interest of service, passing legislation, and understanding and understanding the issues,” Bost said. “The United States and the world are facing some very big challenges right now, and we don’t need people coming in for on-the-job training on day one.”
But Bost is still getting to know most of the voters. Instead of occupying a cozy corner of southwestern Illinois, the current 12th District, which was rezoned after the 2020 Census, now includes much of the previously contiguous 15th District, including Monroe County. Republican Central Committee Chairman Ed MacLean calls it the “Eastern Bloc.”
In total, 34 counties make up the bottom third of the state. Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in 2016 and President Joe Biden in 2020, winning the former 12th District with at least 55% of the vote, but twice in the former 15th District. , received over 70% of the votes.
The problem is clear. The southern United States is exploding in trouble in Illinois with the arrival of 36,000 immigrants who have been deported across the border to oppose any restrictions on gun rights, fight inflation, and oppose abortion. It’s a border closure. Mainly from Texas. It’s a race to win the hearts and minds of true Trump conservatives.
Few places are as clear as Cayce, a town of 3,300 people in the northeastern part of the “Eastern Block.” The town, an hour’s drive from Bailey’s home in Ksenia, is known for its “world’s largest” collection of objects, including wind chimes and golf tees. , rocking chairs, etc.
“America should be ‘America First,'” said Marlene Watts, 71, a resident of Casey. “We’ve always been a country that can help the poor and needy, but now (immigrants) have come before us. Americans are now in some ways last. It is.”
Mr. Bailey has touted ratings that show Mr. Bost’s conservative voting record is on par with that of former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, who is now under fire on the right. Bost scoffed, claiming that the votes were hand-picked from the group’s vetting, and went on a lengthy list of endorsements for people other than President Trump.
In 2014, Bost flipped a district that hadn’t elected a Republican in 70 years, 43 of which were ruled by the legendary Melvin Price. But Mr. Bost describes himself as a “deep-throated conservative,” explaining, “I’m not going to burn down everything in Washington just to keep 100 percent of what I want.”
The jab at Bailey comes at a time when challengers and incendiaries such as Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz, who has been campaigning for Bailey and are among the lawmakers who have raised eyebrows over his cooperation with Democrats in Congress, It refers to the relationship between
Will Stevens, a nonpartisan Murphysboro mayor who has volunteered on Bost’s campaigns since he was a teenager, likens Bailey to former professional boxer Reggie Strickland. People coming.
Stevens said Bailey “is going to go to Washington. He’s going to fight performance artists, but he’s not going to win any of the fights.” “Then he will email you and ask you to send him money for his campaign.”
Mr. Bailey countered that he is willing to compromise if Democrats abandon extreme positions such as “open borders” and public school ethics.
“When you have radicals who want to take over and destroy public education and radicals who want to destroy lives, it’s very difficult to compromise on that,” Bailey said. “I have a pretty good track record of working with Democrats on certain bills. That wall has never existed.”
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As with many political races, money could be decisive. In the second half of 2023, Bost received $1 million and spent $574,000, leaving him with $1.36 million in the bank at the end of the year. Bailey made his $326,000 contribution, spent $209,000, and had $117,000 in his pocket.
That’s money Bost shouldn’t have spent, according to Monroe County Chairman McLean.
“Darren Bailey is inciting Eastern Bloc Republicans to turn against sitting Republicans,” MacLean said. “Why won’t he defeat the Democrats?”
