East Central Reporter

The nomination of Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Olney) for the Illinois gubernatorial race garnered excitement for the Republican party.

"The people resoundingly took back the Republican party from the broken political establishment – up and down the ballot," Rep. Blaine Wilhour (R-Shelbyville) said on Facebook.

Bailey is running for the position of governor of Illinois in the November general election, according to Ballotpedia. He will face incumbent Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D).

Wilhour shared a link to a Chicago Sun-Times article about the gubernatorial candidates, highlighting Bailey's outcome in the gubernatorial race. "With 96% of precincts counted statewide, Bailey had 57.4% of the vote compared to 15.7% for downstate venture capitalist Jesse Sullivan and 15% for third-place candidate Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin," the article stated.

Wilhour endorsed Bailey in the race for the governor's office, according to South Central Reporter. The representative was active on Facebook in the months leading up to the primary.

"Conservatives will no longer be told to 'hold your nose, compromise your values, and vote for the only one they say can win," Wilhour said in a Facebook post. "We are done with that. All it's gotten us is higher taxes, lower wages, and less opportunity. The people are standing up to send the political elites in both parties packing."

Wilhour also endorsed Kevin Schmidt for the Illinois House of Representatives District 114, Prairie State Wire reported.

"Kevin Schmidt is a hard worker with strong ties to the district,” Wilhour said. "He will be a tireless advocate for the structural reforms we need to turn Illinois around. Schmidt will not be afraid to take on the political insiders and influence peddlers who are bankrupting our state. I look forward to working with Kevin Schmidt in the state legislature."