Darren Bailey's attack on Pritzker's yearbook sparks criticism
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Republican gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey speaks in 2022 in Effingham, Illinois. Photo: Jim Vondruska/Getty Images
Republican gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey is facing criticism after attacking Gov. JB Pritzker over decades-old high school yearbook photos.
The latest: Bailey posted screenshots of Gov. JB Pritzker's high school yearbook photos and captions.
- The yearbook photo shows Pritzker hanging with a friend, while the caption quotes F. Scott Fitzgerald and a list of what could be best described as "senior quotes," which is standard in yearbooks.
What he posted: "Hey JB Pritzker, found your old yearbook," the post says. "What exactly did you mean by 'funny things on your knees' and 'drugged for drugs'?"
Context: Bailey's post highlighted ambiguous phrases from Pritzker's yearbook and prompted criticism from pundits and social media commenters who interpreted it as an attempt to question or mock the governor's sexuality.
Between the lines: Bailey's post drew criticism from political observers, including Republicans, who argued it was an unnecessarily personal attack.
- "I don't think it's effective," former Illinois Republican Party chairman Pat Brady tells Axios.
- "This is just a low blow that makes you look petty and not real smart and not real concerned about talking about issues that matter. It serves no purpose other than a couple chuckles from the far right crowd."
Flashback: For Bailey, the attack kicks off what will undoubtedly be a nasty campaign. The two sparred in 2022 with Pritzker coming out on top.
- Bailey also faced criticism during the 2022 campaign after calling Chicago a "hellhole," remarks he has continued to apologize for on the campaign trail.
The other side: Pritzker took to social media to respond to the yearbook attack. "This was a great year," the governor wrote on X. "Thanks for the reminder, Darren."
The bottom line: Bailey's post may energize his conservative base, but Republicans acknowledge he'll ultimately need moderates and independents to defeat the two-term incumbent.
- "Every second they spend doing things like this and not talking about issues that voters care about like taxes or crime is wasted time," Brady adds. "The whole goal is to attract more voters. You got to get some people in the middle, and this does nothing to move that ball forward at all."