Republican Bailey Projected Winner In IL Gubernatorial Primary: AP

Darren Bailey is the projected winner of the Republican gubernatorial primary and will face Gov. JB Pritzker in a rematch of the 2022 race.

The Associated Press called the race in favor of Bailey at 8:35 p.m. Tuesday.

"Thank you to the voters of this great state for placing your trust in this movement," Bailey said at his election victory party. "Humbled and I promise you this I will never forget who put me here."

Polls closed at 7 p.m. in Illinois. All election results are unofficial.

Take a look at the unofficial results below from AP News. Results will be added as they are released (Updated at 12:25 p.m. Wednesday):

Republican Primary (95 percent of votes counted/AP estimates)

The winner of the Republican primary will challenge Pritzker, who is seeking a third four-year term as governor, in November.

In a race that began with seven Republican candidates, just four remained as voters went to the polls Tuesday across the state. Bailey, the GOP candidate in 2022, faced off with former Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski, businessman Rick Heidner and DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick.

RELATED: IL Governor's Race Heats Up As 4 Republicans Vie For Chance To Unseat Pritzker

Bailey, of Louisville, turned 60 on Tuesday. The former state senator and state representative ran an unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign in 2022, and also came up short in a Congressional primary two years later. The downstate farmer has chosen Aaron Del Mar as his running mate.

"Illinois is hurting across this state, no matter where you live or who you voted for, people are feeling the same pressure," Bailey said Tuesday night. "Families are working harder and falling further behind. Seniors are afraid to open their utility bills."

Bailey, who was leading in most polls heading into Election Day, has previously served in the Illinois Senate for the 55th District and was also member of the Illinois House of Representatives for the 109th District in Southern Illinois.

"For too long, Illinois has been run by people who don't live with the consequences of their decisions," Bailey said. "We've had back-to-back billionaire governors who never had to worry about grocery prices, never wondered if they could pay their property taxes, never had to scrape together the dollars to pay the power bill before they shut off the lights. They live in a different Illinois than the rest of us, and let's be honest about where that's led us."

Meghan Meehan-Draper, executive director of the Democratic Governors Association, released a statement in response to Bailey's victory.

“Illinoisans already rejected Darren Bailey and his extreme agenda once before, and the only thing different about this year is that he brings even more baggage to the race," Meehan-Draper said. "Bailey already supported banning abortion without exception for rape and incest, had downplayed the Holocaust, and perpetuated dangerous conspiracy theories that the 2020 election was stolen. Now, he can add to his laundry list of fringe positions that he is all in on Trump’s cost-hiking tariffs, supports bringing the chaos and dysfunction of DOGE to Illinois, thinks the National Guard should be deployed on Illinois streets, and has called for his political opponents to be jailed. Bailey was too extreme then, he’s too extreme now, and Illinoisans will reject him yet again in November."

Dabrowski, of Wilmette, who runs Wirepoints.org, a conservative research publication, had Carrie Mendoza with him on the ticket.

Dabrowski, 62, who holds an MBA from the Wharton School and a master's degree from the University of Chicago, is making his first run for public office. Earlier this month in a Patch questionnaire, he emphasized that affordability is the most pressing issue currently facing the state.

Mendrick, 55, of Woodridge, the DuPage County Sheriff since 2018, is joined by Robert Renteria for lieutenant governor on the ticket. He is also committed to ending what he calls "soft-on-crime policies," as well as defending parental rights, and delivering quality education to every child in the state.

Heidner, 65, of Barrington Hills, is a real estate developer and owner of a video gambling company, chose Homer Glen Mayor Christina Neitzke-Troike as his lieutenant governor pick.

On his website, Heidner said he ran for Governor because he understands what Illinois families are facing — because he lived it.