Del Mar teases run for 'higher office,' sparking 2026 Illinois governor speculation

[February 11, 2025]  By Catrina Barker | The Center Square contributor

(The Center Square) - Aaron Del Mar, while speaking at a Lincoln Day Dinner in Lincoln, Illinois, hosted by the Logan County Republicans, suggested he plans to run for “higher office.”

Del Mar was Gary Rabine’s running mate in the 2022 gubernatorial primary. The pair lost to former state Sen. Darren Bailey, R-Xenia.

"I'm strongly considering a statewide run for governor. That's not something that's been a big secret. We're evaluating all the different opportunities and putting together a team statewide,” Del Mar told The Center Square. “We're going to each of the 102 counties in Illinois and listening to see what the issues are. One of the biggest challenges with our current governor is he only governs Chicago. He doesn't govern the rest of the state.”

Six candidates ran in the 2022 Republican primary. Incumbent Gov. J.B. Pritzker won the Democratic primary against Beverly Miles. Del Mar said it’s important to avoid a highly contested primary.

"Over $115 million was spent just in the Illinois Republican primary, not including what we spent in the general election,” said Del Mar. “We also need to be cognizant of election meddling like J.B. Pritzker did in 2022 when he spent $25 million in our Republican primary. Republicans should be voting in Republican primaries. Democrats should be working in Democratic primaries.”

Del Mar, who recently resigned his position as co-chairman of the Illinois Republican Party, said he thinks Pritzker won’t run for governor in 2026.

"He's looking at a $5 billion deficit going into the next cycle. This might be his exit strategy to get out of that when he decides to run for president in 2028,” said Del Mar.

Aaron Del Mar - BlueRoomStream

In an official statement after President Donald Trump won the November 2024 election, Pritzker said, “In 2017, I sought public office in large part because of the threat Donald Trump and his allies posed to Illinois, and as governor, I have helped enshrine into state law protections that uphold our common Illinois values. That work will continue, and it remains my north star.”

Del Mar said whoever becomes the governor in 2026 needs to work with the federal government.

“Donald Trump and the White House filed a lawsuit against the state of Illinois, city of Chicago, and Cook County because they're not allowing federal law to be adhered to in the city of Chicago,” said Del Mar. “The Cook County board put together a resolution and passed it today [Thursday] that said that they would give public defenders to any illegal immigrants that are in not only Cook County but across the state of Illinois. In a county that's the second-largest county in the United States, the largest county in Illinois, to be sending resources out of its own county, which has already been depleted, is unimaginable and completely inappropriate.”

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