Pritzker, Bailey Make Final Illinois Pitch Before Nov. 4 Governor Vote

3 articles · Updated · NBC Chicago · Nov 3

One day before Tuesday's Illinois governor election, JB Pritzker and Darren Bailey spent Monday making their closing appeals in Collinsville and Chicago.
Pritzker, who beat Bailey by nearly 13 points in 2022, urged Democrats not to take the race for granted while arguing turnout from young, Black and Latino voters is running stronger than in 2018.
Bailey, endorsed by President Donald Trump, cast the race as a referendum on Pritzker's 8 years in office and tried to broaden his appeal in Chicago, a city he once called a "hellhole."
His first-day agenda centers on a 6-month gas-tax suspension and reversing toll increases, while Pritzker's campaign pointed to past affordability moves including a near-doubling of the minimum wage and ending the state grocery tax.
The race also tests each ticket's reach beyond the top of the ballot, with Democrat Christian Mitchell seeking to become Illinois' first Black male lieutenant governor and Republican Aaron Del Mar aiming to bridge downstate and Chicago-area Republicans.