, the former Republican Illinois gubernatorial candidate, is banking on his deeply conservative values and unwillingness to sacrifice them to propel him to victory against U.S. Rep. Mike Bost in the 12th District primary next month.
鈥淎s a Republican 鈥� and as a conservative Republican 鈥� I cannot compromise my values,鈥� Bailey said on the Politically Speaking podcast.
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Bailey, R-Xenia, believes it鈥檚 time for change in Washington, and he鈥檚 cast his opponent, a five-term congressman, as a political insider.
The 12th Congressional District spans the southern third of the state and includes parts of the Metro East like O鈥橣allon and Scott Air Force Base. Whoever wins the Republican primary will be highly favored in November in the conservative district.
While both candidates share numerous similarities in policy positions, Bailey, a Clay County farmer, believes Bost is not conservative enough. Bailey points to Bost鈥檚 membership in the U.S. House , a group of 鈥減ragmatic conservatives,鈥� according to the group鈥檚 website.
鈥淚 love the work that the House Freedom Caucus is doing,鈥� Bailey said, referring to a group of the most conservative GOP representatives.
Bailey said security on the U.S.-Mexico border would be his top issue if elected. Last week, .
鈥淣o. 1 priority is closing our border and making sure that we are secure with the millions of people who have come undocumented into our country,鈥� he said.
A in the U.S. Senate, which tied border security to funding for Ukraine and Israel, did not pass the Senate and appears likely to do so in the House. Bailey said he wouldn鈥檛 have supported it because it addresses too much.
鈥淚'm going to fight like crazy for single-issue bills,鈥� he said.
Before discussing funding Ukraine鈥檚 defense against the Russian offensive, Bailey said Congress needs to act on the border.
Both Republicans are banking on their support of former President Donald Trump in this race, believing that will help them clinch the nomination. Bailey said he last spoke to Trump in December.
鈥淵es, we did talk about the endorsement,鈥� Bailey said. 鈥淲e are definitely on his radar.鈥�
Trump has yet to make an endorsement in the race but in his failed attempt to the governor鈥檚 office and Bost in previous .
Bailey currently holds endorsements from fellow Illinois Republican Mary Miller and Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Florida, who will be in Herrin, Illinois.
Illinois early voting has begun, and election day is March 19.
Bost鈥檚 appearance on Politically Speaking is scheduled to air Tuesday.
