Overview
- Major news outlets projected JB Pritzker the winner on Election Night, giving him another four-year term after returns poured in Tuesday night.
- Pritzker became the first Democrat in Illinois history to win three consecutive gubernatorial terms, extending his hold on the governor’s office.
- The governor financed a large, self-funded campaign that outspent Darren Bailey and dominated advertising across the state.
- Bailey ran on affordability and public-safety promises that included a short gas-tax suspension and toll rollbacks and he received President Trump’s endorsement.
- Pritzker’s victory cements his statewide standing, places deputy governor Christian Mitchell as the next lieutenant governor, and fuels discussion that he could pursue a 2028 presidential bid.