Illinois Election: Gov. JB Pritzker declares victory in re-election bid against Darren Bailey
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Gov. JB Pritzker declared victory Tuesday night in his bid for a second term, and his Republican challenger Darren Bailey conceded the race, while holding out a slim hope that there's "still room for a miracle."
The Associated Press projected Pritzker as the winner in the race immediately after the polls closed Tuesday night.
With 66% of the votes counted as of 9:50 p.m., Pritzker was leading Bailey 55.3% to 41.7%, with Libertarian Scott Schluter far behind with 3%
In a victory speech, Pritzker said he was grateful for winning a second term as a crowd of supporters chanted "four more years" at the governor's Election Night party in the South Loop.
"I'm grateful tonight that Illinois continues a long tradition of peaceful and fair elections, and I am so thrilled to spend four more years as your governor," he said.
Pritzker said he's ready for a fight in the years ahead "as our nation's fundamental ideals are under siege."
"Two of the nation's biggest MAGA Republican billionaires, along with their teams of political grifters, they spewed lies and innuendo, and you showed them that Illinois is a state that stands up for working families and rejects their selfish agenda," he said, referring to GOP megadonors Ken Griffin and Dick Uihlein, who pumped tens of millions of dollars into the election in support of Pritzker's Republican opponents in the primary and general election.
Bailey conceded about an hour after Pritzker declared victory, though he maintained, "there's still room for a miracle."
"Still room for a miracle until all the votes are counted, but from what we know, tonight didn't turn out the way we wanted," he said.
"The things that we want, the things that unite us are the same, and they always have been," he added. "I may not be going to Springfield as your next governor, but I will never stop fighting for you."
The race offered voters a choice between the two frontrunners, who have starkly different backgrounds and views.
Pritzker is a billionaire from Chicago, heir to the Hyatt Hotels fortune, and founder of the tech start-up incubator 1871, who has been endorsed by former President Barack Obama, is a staunch supporter of abortion rights, and advocate for strict gun control.
Bailey is a millionaire farmer from the small town of Xenia in southern Illinois, who was backed by former President Donald Trump, opposes abortion except when the mother's life is at risk, and wants to repeal the state's Firearm Owner's Identification Act.
While Bailey spent much of the day before Election Day campaigning in the Chicago area, Pritzker focused on the rest of the state.
Pritzker appeared at rallies Monday with other top state Democrats - including U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Illinois) - who is herself up for reelection, as well as Illinois State Comptroller Susana Mendoza and Attorney General Kwame Raoul.
Pritzker has funneled at least $110 million to his own re-election campaign, allowing him to dominate the airwaves and internet with ads.
While Bailey has received $12 million in direct support from conservative billionaire businessman Richard Uihlein, who also has given more than $42 million to the pro-Bailey "People Who Play By the Rules" political action committee, the Republican challenger didn't air his first broadcast TV ads of the general election until early October.
By then, Pritzker had spent months hammering Bailey as too conservative for Illinois, leaving Bailey with an uphill battle to define himself for many voters.
Meantime, both Bailey and the People Who Play By the Rules PAC – run by conservative political operative and radio host Dan Proft – have repeatedly hammered Pritzker on crime, taking aim at sweeping criminal justice reform legislation dubbed the SAFE-T Act, which will end cash bail in Illinois next year.
Bailey and other opponents have said the SAFE-T Act will increase crime in Illinois, while Democrats who supported the law have said it will make the court system more equitable, by not keeping people accused of a crime in jail simply because they can't afford to post bail.
Supporters of the SAFE-T Act also have accused Republicans of spreading misinformation about the law's impact.
Bailey has said he would repeal the law if elected governor, but he would need the approval of the Illinois General Assembly, which currently has Democratic supermajorities in both chambers, which are unlikely to change significantly after the general election.
