O’FALLON, Ill.—With now just under two weeks left until the Illinois primary on March 19, former Illinois State Sen. Darren Bailey, the former GOP nominee for governor in 2022 now challenging U.S. Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill., is calling for a housecleaning of the Republican party in the state and says he has nothing to lose.

Polling released by Bailey’s campaign in late January essentially showed the race as a tossup. The survey of 300 likely voters gave Bailey a lead of 48-44% with a margin of error of 5.66%. 

But that poll came before former President Donald Trump issued an endorsement in the race on Feb. 20. In a statement, Trump said while he liked and respected Bailey, who he campaigned for and endorsed in 2022, it was Bost who got the nod.

The Trump endorsement followed a string of other announcements from elected officials, like House Judiciary Committee Chair Rep. Jim Jordan, the Republican from Ohio, and groups like the National Rifle Association, who also went with Bost.

On Monday night, Bailey welcomed U.S. Rep. Mary Miller, R-Ill., for an event attended by roughly 60 supporters at an O’Fallon hotel. Bailey served with Miller’s husband Chris in the Illinois State Senate and it was at a 2022 rally for Miller in Quincy where Trump also took the stage and endorsed Bailey’s gubernatorial bid.

Bailey described the other endorsements that have come Bost’s way this time around, including from former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, current House Speaker Mike Johnson, Jordan and other House committee chairs, as just the way the nation’s capitol works, where committee chairs endorse fellow committee chairs, and groups are inclined to support incumbents.

“I love the fact that I’m going to be going to D.C. unbeholden to anyone except the people. It makes it all that much easier so I believe it’s a blessing in disguise,” Bailey said of the Trump snub.

The Bost campaign described Bailey as a “self-interested show horse.”

“Mike Bost’s support among conservatives is not only widespread, it’s strongest among the conservative groups Darren Bailey touts in his own campaign,” Myles Nelson, Bost’s campaign manager said in a statement. “Top conservatives know Darren Bailey won’t deliver on the America First agenda. And here at home, where Bost’s lead in local endorsements over Bailey has grown into the hundreds, Bailey’s mission to tear conservatives apart is being soundly rejected." 

Rep. Miller declined a Spectrum News interview to discuss the race but reminded the audience of Bailey’s vocal opposition to COVID-19 mandates.

“His unwavering commitment to liberty showed strong during that time and he’s continued to be a loud and active voice for faith, family and freedom. We need all the help we can get fighting the swamp in D.C.,” she said.

While Bailey has pointed to policy differences, including what he says was Bost’s support for amnesty at the border and a Trump-era ban on bump-stock gun devices, voters will be deciding between two candidates who claim a conservative mantle. 

Questions at Monday’s forum about specific policies he’d advocate for often harkened back to the “fighting” mantra he’s echoed in this campaign and those which preceded it. Spectrum News asked Bailey if there should be a higher bar in articulating a more specific policy vision.

“The people know who I am,” Bailey said. “They know if I say something I do it, I don’t change my beliefs, I represent people, I get things done and they know that so that’s the message because our congressman is a no show at every level. People know that. They’re fed up with it and at the end of the day, when they show up to vote and see my name there, I’m confident that the overwhelming majority’s going to vote for me."