Democrats in Illinois got the challenger they wanted for current Governor JB Pritzker on Tuesday, when Senator Darren Bailey won the Republican gubernatorial primary with about 33% of the votes counted. Bailey received 53.5% of the votes, with venture capitalist Jesse Sullivan getting 16.9% and former Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin at 16.5%, a disappointment.

Pritzker, the billionaire heir to the Hyatt hotel fortune, is already a strong candidate to win a second term in November. But he and the Democratic Governors Association have spent a lot to help Bailey win with ads funding the Republican contest claiming he is "100% pro-life."

On the other hand, Bailey also raised his statewide profile during the pandemic by opposing Pritzker’s COVID-19 measures, suing the governor over the stay-at-home order, and confronting him from the legislative floor over his refusal to wear a mask. Such stances could have earned Bailey the support of loyal Republican voters, but they will be met with skepticism or disdain in a state heavily dominated by Democrats in Chicago and its bluer suburbs, where Democrats control all statewide offices.

Bailey rejected the notion that he cannot win and criticized “establishment Republicans” for their contribution to decades of mismanagement in the state. Speaking before a crowd at a campaign stop in rural Illinois this month, he said, “We will send a message to the Republican establishment that we will not be bullied into sacrificing our principles to elect their candidates.”

Meanwhile, Irvin, who could have been the first Black governor of the Land of Lincoln, was seen as a prominent candidate when he entered the race, financially supported by billionaire Ken Griffin with up to $50 million. But unlike Bailey and his four other opponents, Irvin avoided talking about abortion or stating whether he voted for Trump, focusing instead on issues like crime in Chicago and legislation signed by Pritzker that he said makes surveillance harder. He said he opposes abortion except in cases of rape or to protect the mother's life. Irvin also said he was the only Republican candidate who could defeat Pritzker in November because he might win votes from Republicans, independents, and some Democrats. Then he added during a tour of a factory: “The truth is I am the candidate who can win this race, and that’s why the attacks come.”

Current JB Pritzker is the favorite candidate in the November election, and the other Republican candidates are Sullivan, businessman Gary Rabine, former Senator Paul Schimp, and attorney Max Solomon.

Illinois is one of several states where Democrats have helped conservative or far-right candidates, betting that they will be easier to defeat in the general election.

In Pennsylvania, for example, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Josh Shapiro spent over six figures attacking state Senator Doug Mastriano during the GOP primary, raising his profile and winning the nomination.

Some Democrats have warned that the strategy could backfire in a hostile political environment highlighted by rising inflation, including record gasoline prices.