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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) – The Illinois governor’s race is heating up with less than a month left before the midterms. Gov. JB Pritzker picked up an endorsement from a longtime Republican leader and Darren Bailey cast his ballot Monday.
Former Illinois House GOP Leader Jim Durkin said he is voting for Pritzker because he doesn’t want to waste his vote for Bailey. Durkin said he may not agree with Pritzker on everything, but the Republican believes the Democrat is a good person and delivered on matters important to the state.
“I served with Darren Bailey in Springfield, and I know what he is and isn’t capable of,” Durkin said in a video for the Pritzker campaign. “Bailey stands for exclusion over inclusion, and his politics are of subtraction over addition. His politics don’t work for me or the Republican Party that I know.”
Darren and Cindy Bailey cast their ballots at the Clay County Courthouse just hours after Durkin’s announcement. The southern Illinois farmer said he knows he can win in his home county, but he’ll need support from voters across the entire state.
“I’m counting on you to show up and make sure your voice is heard, that you stay in touch with your friends and neighbors all the way up until Nov. 3, encouraging them, demanding them, holding them accountable, reminding them, making sure they show up and vote,” Bailey said.
Collin Corbett said he has found many people are frustrated with hyperpartisanship from Democrats and Republicans. He told WAND News voters are ready for an independent leader in the governor’s office.
“We’ve been told you have to vote for the red and blue candidate, otherwise you’re wasting your vote,” Corbett said. “But if we all come together, we would dominate politics. Imagine how that would make people’s lives better if common sense had the loudest voice in the room instead of the extreme partisan positions.”
Corbett is only Illinois’ third independent candidate for governor in 86 years.