Darren Bailey, the downstate Christian conservative farmer and former state lawmaker who was the Republican Party’s unsuccessful 2022 candidate for governor, will seek the nomination next year to once again challenge Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker, Bailey’s planned running mate said.

Aaron Del Mar, the Cook County Republican chairman who also had been considering a bid for governor, said Tuesday he had agreed to serve as Bailey’s lieutenant governor candidate. Del Mar said the two will be campaigning more as a “regional partnership,” with Bailey focused south of Interstate 80 and Del Mar concentrating on Chicago and the collar counties.

A formal campaign announcement is expected by the end of the month, Del Mar said.

“I think that we can repackage and rebrand and have a more comprehensiv

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