Source: Politics<\/p>\n
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. \u2014 JB Pritzker is at a political crossroads.<\/p>\n
The popular, two-term Illinois governor would be a prohibitive favorite if he runs again in 2026.<\/p>\n
But the fiery progressive Democrat is also increasingly burnishing his national political credentials, making high profile appearances across the country, using his vast personal wealth to bankroll Democratic causes and pillorying the divisive policies of President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n
Pritzker has strong views about what Democrats need to do to claw their way back from the wilderness after the drubbing they took in November.<\/p>\n
\u201cDemocrats shouldn’t fall into the trap that they fell into in 2024 of responding to everything that the Republicans say, given the way they twist things,\u201d Pritzker said in a wide-ranging interview in his Capitol office where he signs bills. \u201cRepublicans keep asking the question, \u2018Have you stopped beating your wife?\u2019 There is no good answer to that.\u201d<\/p>\n
But at the same time, Pritzker stresses, Democrats need to vigorously defend core principles, saying it was a \u201cmistake\u201d that Kamala Harris\u2019 campaign never came up with an effective answer to Trump\u2019s attacks for her support of transgender rights.<\/p>\n
Asked how he would have responded, Pritzker said: \u201cFirst of all, stop picking on the smallest minority of people whose civil rights are just as important as yours. \u2026 Trans children are most likely of any group to commit suicide. Why do Republicans have no sympathy for that at all?\u201d<\/p>\n
Pritzker is looking to execute a political balancing act when it comes to bolstering his political prospects both in Illinois and nationwide. That means speaking out forcefully on the most hot-button issues \u2013 immigration, tariffs, DOGE \u2013 while also taking steps to boost home-state constituencies like Illinois farmers and veterans.<\/p>\n
His full-throated attacks on Trump are drawing attention from prominent national Democrats. It\u2019s a tactic that more party leaders should emulate, says David Hogg, a vice chair of the Democratic National Committee who ignited a firestorm in the party in recent days with his pledge to fund primary challenges against some \u201casleep-at-the-wheel\u201d Democrats in safe-blue seats.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re in a moment \u2026 where some people are saying, \u2018We need to roll over and die\u2019 and other people want to fight,\u201d Hogg said about Democratic messaging. \u201cJB wants to fight.\u201d<\/p>\n
The governor and his staff spent months preparing for a November loss, even though they were hopeful that Harris would triumph, said Anne Caprara, who ran Pritzker\u2019s 2018 gubernatorial campaign and is now his chief of staff.<\/p>\n
\u201cJB is just a person who hopes for the best and prepares for the worst,\u201d Caprara said.<\/p>\n
Pritzker\u2019s immediate post-election message was a warning to Trump and an assurance to the state\u2019s Democratic voters that he would stand up for abortion rights, immigration and LGBTQ+ protections if they came under attack.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou come for my people, you come through me,\u201d he said just two days after the election.<\/p>\n
On immigration, in particular, Pritzker has been among the loudest voices attacking the Trump administration\u2019s policies. It\u2019s a contrast from many other ambitious Democrats who have looked for ways to show voters that they support tougher enforcement efforts targeting undocumented immigrants in the wake of the election drubbing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy is Donald Trump kicking out law-abiding, tax-paying people who have been here 10 and 20 years and raised a family here?\u201d Pritzker asked. \u201cWhy are they picking on those people and kicking them out? If you had proper immigration laws, you would want them to come to this country. We need them to fill jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Though Pritzker also has repeatedly said he supports kicking out criminals, his views on immigration have put him in the sights of Republican Rep. James Comer\u2019s Oversight Committee, which has called him to testify next month on Illinois\u2019 sanctuary status rules that forbid local authorities from helping with federal immigration enforcement efforts.<\/p>\n
\u201cSanctuary jurisdictions and their obstructionist policies hinder the ability of federal law enforcement officers to effectuate safe arrests and remove dangerous criminals from American communities,\u201d Comer, of Kentucky, said in a statement announcing the hearing.<\/p>\n
The Illinois governor has yet to say whether he will agree to testify before the committee. His team has called it a \u201cpartisan dog and pony show.\u201d<\/p>\n
As Pritzker ticked off his concerns about Trump\u2019s policies, he sat in the shadow of a wall-size portrait of one of the storied debates between Republican Abraham Lincoln and Democrat Stephen Douglas.<\/p>\n
His attacks on Trump have seldom risen to those rhetorical heights. The Illinois governor has described the president as \u201ca narcissist,” \u201crich in stupidity\u201d and someone who \u201cbehaves like a fifth-grader.\u201d He\u2019s even invoked Hitler in describing the Trump administration\u2019s actions.<\/p>\n
How he talks to the public, Caprara said, has been shaped in large part by what he learned during the pandemic, when he gave at least 85 televised press conferences on the spread of the disease and how to stay safe.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we learned was that in times of really great uncertainty people value clear communication from their leaders,\u201d said Caprara. \u201cAnd they value communication that is not mealy mouthed or wishy-washy or obfuscating what actually is happening in the world. And so that is the world in which we’ve operated since November.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pritzker is now taking that message across the country.<\/p>\n
Since March, he has headlined the Jim Owles Winter Pride Gala in New York City and the Human Rights Campaign’s annual dinner in Los Angeles. Pritzker has also taken center stage at Democratic Party events in Florida and Texas.<\/p>\n
Next week, he\u2019s the featured speaker at New Hampshire Democrats\u2019 iconic McIntyre-Shaheen 100 Club dinner, a major fundraiser known for drawing big names ahead of presidential elections. And in June, Pritzker headlines the Michigan Democratic Party Legacy Dinner.<\/p>\n
In addition, Pritzker\u2019s Think Big America has pumped in money to support progressive legislation and candidates across the country, including in red states. The nonprofit has so far put money into supporting abortion rights initiatives in nine states and saw seven of them pass in the past two cycles, including in Ohio and Montana.<\/p>\n
\u201cAbortion rights are broadly popular, and there are plenty of Republicans and independents who came out to vote for that issue and came to our side,” said Mike Ollen, who heads the organization and is in Pritzker\u2019s inner circle, having served as campaign manager for his 2022 gubernatorial run.<\/p>\n
Pritzker, whose family built the Hyatt Hotel empire, has also donated millions of dollars to races across the country, including $1.5 million to the winning Democrat-aligned candidate<\/a> in last month\u2019s high-profile Wisconsin Supreme Court race.<\/p>\n The governor\u2019s rising national profile has hit a nerve with Illinois Republicans who see it as political \u201cgrandstanding\u201d and \u201ca distraction\u201d from \u201cthe mess\u201d in Illinois, according to state party Chair Kathy Salvi, referring to the state\u2019s projected $3 billion-plus budget deficit. She uses Pritzker\u2019s speaking engagements as a foil to rally members in her weekly email.<\/p>\n Pritzker\u2019s \u201clargesse at the taxpayer\u2019s trough drives the good people, families and business out of our beloved Illinois,\u201d Salvi added in a statement to POLITICO. \u201cHe is crushing us. Save America from JB Pritzker.\u201d<\/p>\n Pritzker says his speaking engagements shouldn\u2019t be read as a lead-up to a presidential campaign. All those national TV hits attacking Trump, he insists, are really an effort to bring attention to his state, highlighting the negative impact of Trump\u2019s tariffs and federal government cuts on his constituents.<\/p>\n \u201cThe more that I can help stoke that, the better it is for farmers here in Illinois,\u201d he said.<\/p>\nTouting Illinois accomplishments<\/h4>\n