Chicago City Wire

Well known Chicago-based shock jock Erich "Mancow" Muller has endorsed State Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia) for Illinois governor.

“And I'm praying for a miracle," Muller said in a recorded statement. "And I'm praying for Darren Bailey. And I would like right now to say that if you're a Mancow fan and you were going to vote for Mancow, I want you to vote for Darren Bailey."

Earlier in the campaign season, Muller himself mulled over a run for governor. He announced his candidacy as an independent on the Jan. 18 edition of Chicago’s Morning Answer.

“I’m not interested in show biz, I am interested in the people’s biz," Mancow said with his trademark humor. "I can tell you what, I’ve been a candidate for a week. And I can tell you already I hate it."

Muller was last a radio host on WLS’s morning show. He left that position in 2020 with his final show running Nov. 25 that year. His career in the radio business began in 1994.

Bailey is one of the most conservative members of the Illinois General Assembly. When he removed his mask on the Senate floor in May 2020, Bailey was one of the first in the state to challenge masking.

Bailey, along with tech entrepreneur Jesse Sullivan, Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin, McHenry County businessman Gary Rabine, former state Sen. Paul Schimpf, Max Solomon and Emily Johnson, are among the GOP candidates for governor.

Of the six candidates for governor, The Center Square noted only three are competitive - Bailey being one.

The primary election will take place on June 28.

Early polling indicates that the state's Democrats are losing support as a result of the party's leadership issue.

According to a Tulchin Research poll, Bailey and Irvin are leading incumbent Gov. J.B. Pritzker in an undisclosed Chicago suburb.

Crime was at the top of the respondents' lists of concerns.