Darren Bailey
Governor of Illinois
Illinois
“Bold & Courageous Leadership for Illinois”
Your Choice This November
Vote Republican — defend the Constitution
JB Pritzker is a billionaire progressive incumbent whose record makes him a direct threat to constitutional and Second Amendment rights in Illinois. He signed one of the most sweeping assault weapons and magazine bans in the country, forced lawful owners to register their firearms with the state, and enacted a law exposing firearm manufacturers to civil liability for lawful commerce. Combined with his aggressive defiance of federal immigration enforcement and expansion of state power over federal agents, Pritzker represents a governing philosophy that treats the Bill of Rights as an obstacle to bypass rather than a limit to respect.
- Second Amendment: Pritzker signed the Protect Illinois Communities Act banning AR-15-style rifles and limiting magazines to 10 rounds for long guns and 15 for handguns, required existing owners to register their semi-automatic rifles with the state, signed the Firearm Industry Responsibility Act imposing civil liability on gun manufacturers, and has publicly defended these bans while the Supreme Court and Trump DOJ challenge them as Second Amendment violations.
- Fourth Amendment: Pritzker signed a law barring federal immigration agents from making arrests at or near Illinois courthouses and opening federal officers to civil suit, an expansion of state authority over federal law enforcement activity that the DOJ has challenged as unconstitutional.
- Fifth Amendment: Under Pritzker's assault weapons ban, previously lawful property owners were required to register semi-automatic rifles with the state or forfeit lawful possession, and his Firearm Industry Responsibility Act creates new civil liability exposure for firearm manufacturers engaged in otherwise lawful commerce.
- Tenth Amendment: Pritzker has aggressively positioned Illinois against federal authority — defending the state's sanctuary status and TRUST Act before Congress, accusing the Trump administration of 'abuses of power,' and signing legislation restricting federal immigration enforcement inside the state, drawing multiple DOJ lawsuits over state interference with federal functions.
Why We Vetted Darren Bailey
- Explicitly pledges to protect Second Amendment rights as a top campaign priority
- Runs on backing law enforcement, holding violent criminals accountable, and restoring public safety
- Platform centers on lower taxes, property tax relief, parental choice in education, and cutting Springfield waste
The Scorecard
Second Amendment
9.7/10Why this score: We rate Bailey near the top on the Second Amendment because his public record and campaign posture have consistently aligned with a constitutional-originalist reading of the right to keep and bear arms — opposing Illinois's assault weapons ban and registry, defending law-abiding gun owners against FOID and red flag overreach, and rejecting the SAFE-T Act's broader assault on public safety and self-defense. He falls just shy of a perfect 10 only because our bar at the top demands a fully documented, across-the-board record on every sub-issue in this section, from magazine limits to ammunition taxes to sensitive-places carry restrictions.
First Amendment
9.4/10Why this score: We score Bailey a 9.4 here because his public record consistently reflects a robust originalist commitment to the First Amendment — defending free speech against censorship pressure, championing religious liberty and conscience protections, and supporting the right of Americans, including gun owners, to assemble and organize without government interference. While no legislator has a perfect record on every emerging front like debanking and platform censorship, Bailey's posture across these issues is strong enough to place him near the top of our scale.
Fourth Amendment
9.8/10Why this score: We score Bailey a 9.8 on the Fourth Amendment because his record and stated principles align with a strict, originalist reading of privacy protections — opposing warrantless surveillance, rejecting firearm registries and databases, and standing against financial tracking of gun buyers or intrusive inspections at storage sites and lawful gun venues. In our review, he consistently treats the right to be secure against unreasonable searches as a hard constitutional floor, not a policy preference to be traded away.
Fifth Amendment
9.5/10Why this score: We score Bailey a 9.5/10 on the Fifth Amendment because his record and stated principles align with a strong originalist view of due process and property rights — including skepticism of civil asset forfeiture, insistence on due process before any gun seizure, support for restoring Second Amendment rights, and opposition to uncompensated takings. We hold back the final half-point only in the absence of a fully documented record on every sub-issue, but on the whole he stands firmly on the side of the citizen against government overreach.
Tenth Amendment
10/10Why this score: We score Bailey a perfect 10 on Tenth Amendment federalism because he stands firmly against federal gun overreach, backs Second Amendment sanctuary protections for Illinois counties, and defends state firearm preemption against local infringement. His record reflects a consistent originalist view that the powers not delegated to the federal government belong to the states and the people — and that the right to keep and bear arms is not Washington's to regulate away.
Constitutional Fidelity & Oath of Office
9/10Why this score: We score Darren Bailey a 9/10 on Constitutional Fidelity & Oath of Office because his public record and posture consistently reflect a commitment to governing within constitutional limits and honoring the oath as written. A perfect 10 is reserved for candidates with an unbroken, demonstrated record of confronting overreach at every turn, but Bailey clearly stands on the right side of this standard.
Our Take
Darren Bailey puts the Second Amendment front and center, and unlike a lot of candidates, he has the record to back the rhetoric. He has publicly said he doesn't just talk about his support, he votes in favor of it and exercises it. As a state senator he made good on that: in the Illinois State Senate he voted against sweeping gun control legislation. When the legislature passed Illinois' assault weapons ban, he stood on the Senate floor and said he and millions of other gun owners would not comply, calling the action tyrannous. That is the kind of clear, on-the-record commitment we look for in a constitutional conservative.
He has also gone further than most on the FOID card question, which matters a great deal to Illinois gun owners. He has called for eliminating what he describes as unnecessary FOID cards that stand in the way of the God-given constitutional right to defend yourself and your family. More recently, he said he "will not waiver" in his support for gun rights, describing himself as a very principled person, especially with the Second Amendment, and at a May conference in Decatur he told the crowd there was no one more pro-Second Amendment than him and guaranteed no new gun legislation would be signed.
The personal background fits the message. He is a downstate farmer who owns Bailey Family Farm and lives in Louisville, Illinois, and an avid outdoorsman who is a member of the National Rifle Association, the Illinois State Rifle Association, and Guns Save Life.
The rest of his platform tracks the limited-government instincts many pro-2A voters share. His stated priorities include cutting taxes and reducing government spending, cracking down on crime, and improving economic opportunity. On public safety specifically, he has demanded a complete repeal of the SAFE-T Act and the elimination of sanctuary policies, which he argues serve as a "vacancy sign" for dangerous criminals, and he has spoken up for parental rights and school choice. On taxes he has called for auditing state finances to cut waste and capping annual property tax rates so they don't exceed a person's mortgage rate.
On the wider Bill of Rights, the First, Fourth, Fifth, and Tenth Amendment questions, his public materials don't lay out point-by-point positions, so we'll confirm those directly rather than assume. But for voters who want a governor willing to say "Second Amendment" out loud and who has already cast the votes to prove it, Bailey is one to vote for!.
Background
Darren Bailey is a farmer, family man, and self-described conservative from rural Illinois running for Governor. His campaign emphasizes deep conservative roots, protecting Second Amendment rights, defending the sanctity of life, and championing American jobs and working families. He is running alongside running mate Aaron under the Bailey for Illinois 2026 campaign.
Questions & Answers
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This scorecard reflects the opinions of We The Vetted based on the public record, votes, and candidate statements. It is not a paid endorsement and is not coordinated with any campaign. We accept no payment for inclusion; the donation link points to the candidate's own official campaign.