SPRINGFIELD, Illinois — Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker got the general election matchup he wanted.
State Senator Darren Bailey won his primary election with a $36.9 million dollar assist from Pritzker and national Democratic campaigns. They spent that money boosting Bailey as "too conservative" while beating up Aurora mayor Richard Irvin.
"All I was saying was, 'Look, the guy who's talking about corruption is actually somebody who has been involved in corruption himself. That's Richard Irvin,'" Pritzker said.
"You know, we talked about -- or the DGA, anyway -- talked about how Darren Bailey is out of step with the people of Illinois and too extreme for Illinois."
Except the TV and mail advertisements from the Democratic Governor's Association didn't brand Bailey as "extreme," but as "conservative."
"Too conservative and too extreme," Pritzker clarified. "Too conservative, way over the top right-wing. And that is what he is about and has always been. And so we were pointing that out, just as I would today."
The Washington Post editorial board scolded Pritzker's strategy as "shameless" and "dangerous" in an op-ed.
"Boosting the primary campaigns of right-wing zealots" helps "Trumpian fanatics move one step closer to offices from which they could directly threaten the nation's democracy," the article said.
Bailey believes Pritzker is underestimating his chances to rally supporters and pull off an upset in November.
"I fully estimate him," Pritzker responded. "There's no underestimation here. We're going to run a tough general election campaign against a right-wing Republican who sought out and got the endorsement of Donald Trump, who endorses Donald Trump's agenda, ho agrees with the idea of 'The Big Lie,' you know, thinks that the January 6 insurrection was actually just a protest. That's who Darren Bailey is. And so no, I understand him and I fully estimate him."
Is there anything about Bailey that Pritzker respects?
"Oh, sure," he replied. "I know that he's a man who worships God who believes significantly in the tenets of his religion. I respect anybody that is committed as he is and he and his wife are."