Overview
- Bailey announced his decision in a video posted Monday alongside his wife, Cindy, calling recent weeks the hardest of their lives.
- He said they are staying in the race "not for politics" but for parents and families seeking a better future in Illinois.
- Bailey’s son Zachary, daughter-in-law Kelsey, and grandchildren Vada Rose, 12, and Samuel, 7, died in an Oct. 22 Montana helicopter crash, while 10-year-old Finn was not on board.
- Bailey said President Donald Trump called after the crash and urged him to "keep fighting" and "don’t back down."
- The former state senator previously won the 2022 GOP nomination for governor before losing to Gov. J.B. Pritzker and earlier served in both chambers of the Illinois Legislature.