Jim Durkin, the Western Springs Republican who represented Hinsdale-area communities in Springfield for nearly two decades, endorsed Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker for reelection on Monday, Oct. 5.

Durkin appeared in a Pritzker campaign video calling GOP nominee Darren Bailey unfit for office, as NPR Illinois first reported. The endorsement lands less than a month before the Nov. 3 general election.

"It's unfortunate, but I cannot cast my vote for my party's nominee," Durkin said in the video.

Durkin led the House Republican caucus from 2013 until he stepped down in January 2023. He represented House District 82, which covered Western Springs and surrounding Lyons Township communities. After redistricting, that district now includes portions of Hinsdale, Burr Ridge, Willowbrook and Darien. Republican Nicole La Ha holds the seat.

Durkin, now a lobbyist with the firm Croke Fairchild Duarte & Beres, according to Politico Illinois Playbook, said Bailey has never accomplished anything for Illinois and cannot be trusted to lead the state. He called Bailey's politics exclusionary and cited the state's assault weapon ban as one area where Pritzker has delivered.

Durkin told Shaw Local he is still a Republican but said the party has been playing "the game of subtraction for the last 10 years" with its positions on abortion, gun rights and LGBTQ rights.

The break was not sudden. Durkin refused to endorse Bailey in 2022 after Bailey defeated then-Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin, Durkin's preferred candidate, in the Republican primary. Durkin has long criticized former President Donald Trump, blaming him for driving moderate suburban voters away from the Illinois GOP. He chaired Sen. John McCain's Illinois campaigns in 2000 and 2008. The state Republican Party has not won a statewide election in 12 years, according to NPR Illinois.

Trump has endorsed Bailey, who lost to Pritzker by about 12.5 percentage points in 2022. Bailey has tried to distance himself from Trump this cycle as he seeks support in the Chicago suburbs.

Bailey responded after casting his ballot in downstate Clay County on Oct. 5. He alleged Durkin was seeking a White House cabinet appointment from Pritzker, who has been described as a potential 2028 presidential candidate. Bailey said Durkin has never truly been a Republican.

Bailey's lieutenant governor running mate, Aaron Del Mar, called the endorsement "surrender dressed up as leadership" and alleged Durkin was trying to strengthen ties to the Democratic establishment, Politico reported.

Durkin dismissed the criticism, saying he has done more for the party than Bailey ever has or will. He suggested Bailey should stick to farming.

Pritzker welcomed the endorsement. Speaking at an unrelated press conference, the governor said the endorsement "was offered to us" and credited the working relationship the two built despite disagreements, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

Early voting began Sept. 24. The general election is Nov. 3.