Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – This November’s Illinois gubernatorial election is a rematch between Gov. JB Pritzker and former state lawmaker Darren Bailey (pictured, right). Pritzker took 54.9 percent of the vote in 2002 to Bailey’s 42.4 percent. Aaron Del Mar (pictured, left), Bailey’s running mate, says this time will be different.

Del Mar told WTAX News Monday Bailey in 2022 “really understood the agricultural side. He really understood ‘south of I-80’ like the back of his hand. But he didn’t have somebody that was on his team that understood suburban Cook, Du Page, Lake County, Kane County, Will County, and, specifically, the city of Chicago.” In other words, Del Mar said he will help Bailey win more than 2022 running mate Stephanie Trussell was able to.

While Bailey is about as far right as you can get on, for example, abortion, Del Mar says the Republicans will focus on family finances rather than on social issues. “We’re talking about affordability,” he said. “Everybody wants to make Illinois more affordable. Everybody wants property tax reform. Everybody wants to have safe streets. Making sure than every Illinois student has access to a quality education, regardless of your ZIP code, regardless of what your parents do for a living. Those are issues we can all agree upon.”

Del Mar said billionaires such as Pritzker don’t have the grass-roots background that he and Bailey have. When reminded that former Gov. Bruce Rauner – a Republican – is a multimillionaire, and that Bailey is himself a millionaire, Del Mar said, “There’s a big difference between being a millionaire and a billionaire, and there is a big difference in taking public service from that grass roots level and getting an understanding of how it actually works, and I don’t think Bruce Rauner, and I definitely know that JB Pritzker don’t have that understanding and didn’t have that experience.”

Election Day is Nov. 3.