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Collin Corbett, independent candidate for Illinois governor

Produced by Christine Hatfield and Brian Mackey
 
a white man in his 40s with brown hair and a beard is wearing a brown sport coat over a plaid button-down shirt; he's wearing headphones and taking into a microphone in a radio studio

Collin Corbett on "The 21st Show" on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026, at Illinois Public Media's studios in Urbana. Brian Mackey/IPM

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This year, Illinois voters are going to have three options when they cast their ballot for governor: incumbent Democrat J.B. Pritzker, Republican challenger Darren Bailey, and an independent candidate by the name of Collin Corbett.

Until a few months ago, Corbett was a Republican political consultant. He also hosted an Illinois politics podcast called “Smoke-Filled Room.” But he left all that behind to mount a campaign for governor.

Corbett has acknowledged his campaign is a long shot, but it raises a number of interesting questions: What do voters mean when they declare themselves to be independent? Why hasn’t an “independent majority” made itself better known in our political system? And where does real change actually happen in American politics?

GUEST

Collin Corbett
Independent candidate for Illinois governor
Former Republican strategist, founder of Cor Strategies