Less than two months after four family members died in a tragic helicopter crash, Darren Bailey finds himself not only trying to rebuild his life but also his nascent campaign for the Republican nomination for Illinois governor.

After taking time off to grieve the loss of his son Zachary, daughter-in-law Kelsey and grandchildren Vada Rose, 12, and Samuel, 7, in the accident in southeastern Montana on Oct. 22 — and taking guardianship of another of the couple’s children, Finn, 10, who was not on the aircraft — the downstate farmer and former state senator said Monday he is returning to the campaign trail.

Humbled by a deep sense of personal loss and chastened by an outpouring of sympathy from both sides of the political aisle, Bailey said, “I just saw complete goodness. And you know why it surprised me? It surprised me because I, myself, haven’t always been the best at that.

“I haven’t always been diligent about expressing my sympathy, my care, my love — whatever it is,” he said, “and that’s probably one of the biggest things that I have garnered out of this. My compassion sensors are just heightened.”

In his political career, Bailey has leaned heavily on his faith as an evangelical, charismatic Christian, which was at the forefront of his losing 2022 bid as the Republican Party nominee against Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker.

He also welcomed the encouragement of President Donald Trump who, in a letter of condolences, told Bailey, “I have no doubt that you will continue to Fight! Fight! Fight! for your beloved state in honor of your beautiful family. Their love for you will forever endure, and their spirits will remain by your side.”

Bailey, who turns 60 on primary day, March 17, lost to Pritzker last time by nearly 13 percentage points. He’s seeking a rematch as one of six people seeking the Republican nomination, including conservative activist Ted Dabrowski of Wilmette and DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick. Some allies and cash backers in Bailey’s 2022 bid have now shifted to Dabrowski, and Bailey acknowledges his effort is akin to the biblical battle of David vs. Goliath as he once again seeks to challenge Pritzker, a billionaire businessman and heir to the Hyatt Hotels fortune.

But he said his campaign is one of the lessons learned, of appreciating regional differences and of being disciplined on a campaign message focused on improving affordability, education and public safety and not on divisive social issues such as his opposition to abortion. All of which he must do while trying to educate residents to take power into their own hands by voting.

“We know what has to be different from the last time,” he said. “I mean, the southern Illinois dialect, coming up here to Chicago and being a farmer and living in a conservative part of the state. I thought it made common sense that everybody in the state thought like I did and found out quickly they didn’t. So we’re going to focus on those issues that we all, 80% of the people, have in common.”

Recalling the pushback he received from calling Chicago a “hellhole” in his last campaign for governor, he said the city “has its problems but Chicagoans are proud of their city and they should be, but the city can be a lot greater.”

“This whole ideology with Chicago, I feel it. You love your city. I get it. You’re passionate about that. I understand better now,” he said, contending his downstate accent was “holding more people up than anything else” from voting for him in the Chicago area.

“I’m asking people to forgo my accent,” he said. “I have tried (to make changes) in some of my pronunciation, but I’m telling you, this is who I am and, at the end of the day, I want to be who I am because that’s how I got here.”

But Bailey continues his staunch defense of Trump, a polarizing president whose Operation Midwest Blitz immigration enforcement campaign in Chicago and the suburbs has been viewed negatively by many in the region, saying “time will tell” about its effects on improving safety.

“The reality is that all these people are trying to do is uphold the law,” he said of the aggressive tactics of immigration enforcement officers. “I think there’s 101 ways we could go about this differently, of helping people attain citizenship, legally, doing something with the people that are here productively. But there’s no way to separate that right now because we know we have dangerous people in the system, too.”

He also said voters should be patient with Trump’s economic programs, including tariffs, saying long-term market conditions are to blame for a poor farm economy that has raised consumer prices.

“I’m looking at President Trump and I’m seeing somebody who is actively communicating and working a message that’s going to take some time,” said Bailey, who won Trump’s endorsement in the 2022 governor’s race but saw the president back the incumbent when Bailey made a failed primary challenge of U.S. Rep. Mike Bost of Murphysboro last year.

“I believe that in the next nine months, I personally believe that we’re going to see some of this stuff make sense,” Bailey said of Trump’s agenda.

“I mean, right now in Illinois, I point my fingers solidly at JB Pritzker and I have to ask: Why? Why the gas tax (increasing every year)? Why? Just why the continued spending? Why, every time there is a problem, we never address the problem?” he asked.

Bailey said he intends to roll out plans to deal with increasing property tax bills. He supports repeal of the SAFE-T Act that ended cash bail, and improvements to education funding and standards. But he said the state government needs to go on a financial “diet” and he wants a comprehensive audit of spending and programs.

Because of his last run for governor, Bailey said he considers himself the front-runner for renomination by Republicans and dismisses criticism of another bid by saying his grassroots network of volunteers and coordinators remains largely intact.

But he lacks the money of ultraconservative megadonor Richard Uihlein of Lake Forest, the founder of the Uline office supply and packaging company, who pumped more than $50 million directly and indirectly into Bailey’s 2022 campaign. Uihlein has given Dabrowski $250,000, and Uihlein’s conduit for Illinois political spending, right-wing radio host Dan Proft of Naples, Florida, is backing Dabrowski.

Bailey, however, said he believed Uihlein’s backing of one of his rivals was due to Bailey’s late entry into the race.

“I think that in time, Mr. Uihlein and others, they will realize the right thing to do is to be with us now, once we get back on the trail and solidify and get our messaging out and I actually start showing up at places, which I otherwise would have been doing during the last two months,” he said.

Bailey said his grandson Finn is doing well and recently received a golden Labrador retriever puppy from a family after his own dog perished in the helicopter accident. He also said he believed his son, Zachary, who was piloting the aircraft, was destined to become the next politician in the family.

On Monday, a spokesperson for the National Transportation Safety Board said it could be up to two years before the agency discloses the likely cause of the crash.

According to a preliminary report from the agency, a witness said she saw the helicopter trying to gain altitude and “something came off it” before it “descended out of her line of sight.”

“So I realized that I owe him this and I owe my grandchildren this continued path of how I believe we get Illinois back on track,” Bailey said.

“The people who reached out to us, going through something that I would never wish on anyone … I needed that. I needed it because I may have been a little too hard-hearted or rough around the edges,” he said.

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(Tribune reporter Jeremy Gorner contributed.)

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