Biography
Collin Corbett is a political strategist and small-business owner who is running for governor of Illinois as an independent after a career as a Republican campaign strategist. His platform emphasizes affordability, including tax changes, and fixing the Department of Children and Family Services, and he says he wants to bring more balance to the race.[1][2][3]
Corbett lives in Palatine and founded Cor Strategies, EmpowerPolitics and Long9 Studio.[1][2] He says he has recruited and trained over 3,500 people to participate in politics.[1] Cor Strategies has helped Republican candidates run for office.[2]
Corbett left Cor Strategies after the primary, saying he was concerned that the Republican Party supports violent immigration raids and no longer welcomes opposing opinions, and he ended his "Smoke-Filled Room" podcast.[2] He filed about 37,000 signatures to run for governor as an independent on May 26, 2026.[2] His running mate is Carolyn Schofield of Crystal Lake, a former Republican McHenry County Board member.[2]
Corbett has said he wants to bring a more balanced voice to a race between Gov. JB Pritzker and Republican nominee Darren Bailey.[2] His platform calls for property, sales and income tax changes and for making fixes at DCFS a top priority.[3]
- 1.About Collin · Collin for Illinois campaign · 2026-10-19 Candidate's own words
- 2.Former Republican strategist Collin Corbett files to run for governor as independent · Capitol News Illinois · 2026-05-26 News report
- 3.Platform for Illinois · Collin for Illinois campaign · 2026-10-19 Candidate's own words
Researched from the cited sources on 2026-10-21.