Darren Bailey Desperately Tries to Pivot on January 6th — But His Record Tells the Full Story

Tonight, the January 6th committee will hold their closing summer hearing — and Illinois GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger, who broke with his party to condemn former President Trump after the violent insurrection, will lead the questioning.

Republican nominee for Illinois governor Darren Bailey jumped to prove his loyalty to Trump by attacking Kinzinger last January. After Kinzinger pushed for Trump’s impeachment, Bailey encouraged the Illinois Republican party to “call on Congressman Kinzinger to stand down, or outright condemn his latest personal and political attack on President Trump and the tens of millions of Americans who support the President.”

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Darren Bailey and January 6th.

In the midst of the bombshell January 6th hearings, Darren Bailey pivoted to avoid a question on Trump’s involvement in the insurrection. When asked whether he thought President Trump did anything wrong on January 6th, Bailey dodged, saying: “I’m going to be perfectly honest with you — I’ve been so focused on the state of Illinois and I will remain focused on the state of Illinois.”

That’s coming from a candidate who lobbied hard for Trump’s endorsement, even journeying to Mar-a-Lago to seal the deal. He wasn’t so “focused on the state of Illinois” then.

But Bailey’s dodge is more than just shady — it’s his desperate attempt at concealing his long record of pushing the Big Lie. The real truth is that Bailey perpetuated ultra-MAGA voter fraud conspiracy theories following the 2020 election, encouraging his followers to “continue to pray for our president and this election process,” adding: “all this fraudulent activity is absolutely disgusting. It’s wrong — it’s, in my opinion, almost the highest form of treason in our country, so we pray that that will be dealt with. We pray that the truth will be uncovered.”

Bailey happily accepted millions from Dick Uihlein, the billionaire who bankrolled his gubernatorial campaign — and the same man who served as the primary source of funding for the ultra-conservative ‘Patriots’ group that helped organize the rally that led to the violent insurrection.

If all that wasn’t enough, an activist deeply involved in Bailey’s gubernatorial campaign was charged for storming the Capitol on January 6th. So when it comes to Darren Bailey and January 6th, there’s a lot more to the story than “remain[ing] focused on the state of Illinois.”

“Darren Bailey’s trying desperately to dodge his own record in the hopes that voters forget just what a MAGA extremist he is,” said DGA Illinois Press Secretary Yael Sheinfeld. “Unfortunately for him, they won’t forget. From the violent insurrection to guns to abortion, Illinoisans know he’s far too conservative for our state.”