Pritzker stirs White House speculation as Chicago gears up for Democratic convention

The decision to hold the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago handed a critical win to Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, elevating his profile at a time when many are speculating on his ambitions for higher office.

Pritzker, a Hyatt Hotels heir fresh off a landslide reelection last November, has seen a string of progressive wins under his tenure and stirred discussion of presidential aspirations after traveling to New Hampshire and Florida last year.

Though the billionaire and his campaign have so far sidestepped questions about his ambitions beyond the governor’s mansion, Democrats in the Prairie State believe the self-described “pragmatic progressive” would be a formidable future White House challenger.

“He’s got a very progressive agenda, but he’s also fiscally conservative. So I think even his harshest critics have to admit that he’s been a good manager of the state’s taxes,” said political operative Victor Reyes.

Indeed, in less than two years, Illinois has seen seven credit rating upgrades. The latest was an upgrade from S&P Global Ratings, which adjusted the state’s credit rating from a BBB+ credit rating to an A-.

Since taking the helm of the blue state in 2019, Pritzker has also enjoyed a slew of legislative wins that’s been aided by a Democratic supermajority in the state legislature. He’s signed legislation to legalize marijuana for recreational use, to raise the minimum wage by 2025 to $15 an hour and, more recently, to help legally shield patients coming from outside of Illinois to receive abortion access.

Recent moves by the Illinois Democrat have encouraged speculation about possible presidential aspirations, including travels last year to the early presidential primary state of New Hampshire and Florida, home to at least one White House contender so far —  former President Trump.

In addition to financially contributing to his own campaigns, the billionaire has also poured money into Democratic groups like the Democratic Governors Association and critical battleground elections such as Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s (D) reelection bid and the Wisconsin Supreme Court race. Whitmer won another term as governor in November and liberal candidate Justice-elect Janet Protasiewicz’s victory flipped the high court’s conservative majority in the Badger State.

More recently, Pritzker has sparred with presumed White House candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) over some of the Republican’s policy positions, such as his rejection of an Advanced Placement African American studies course and the passage of a six-week abortion ban — keeping his name in the headlines.

The news that Democrats picked Chicago as their 2024 Democratic National Convention host site has only bolstered Pritzker’s position just months into his second term.

“It shows he has clout, to use a Chicago term,” said Dick Simpson, professor emeritus at the University of Illinois Chicago and a former city alderman.

“It causes people to look at the governor more closely as a potential candidate. And yes, it does position him because I’m sure he’ll be offered a chance to give a major speech at the convention. It offers him a chance to become one of the early contenders for the 2028 presidential election,” Simpson added.

The Democratic Party has not always been kind to its progressive flank, oftentimes leaning into more centrist and moderate policy proposals and a “don’t-rock-the-boat” attitude against certain progressive politics. But Pritzker has walked an interesting line — having progressive politics that have been seen as a strength while also enjoying a last name and personal wealth that have the potential to make him a mainstay in national politics. 

“I have to tell you that J.B. Pritzker is probably the most approachable, down-to-earth billionaire you’re ever going to see. A guy who really can appeal to everyday voters,” Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) told The Hill.

The words “progressive,” “down-to-earth,” and “billionaire” may all sound like an oxymoron for a politician. But Schakowsky, who notably beat Pritzker during a Democratic House primary in 1998, put it this way: “He is a surprise to some people,” pointing to his philanthropy and his involvement in early childhood education as examples.

While Pritzker has been lauded by Democrats in the state, he’s also rankled Illinois Republicans and even a few members of his own party. His critics point to his handling of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, moves to eliminate cash bail pretrial and signing new state maps used during last November’s midterms that shrunk the number of GOP-favored congressional districts from five to three.

Those new maps also created several awkward incumbent-on-incumbent primary matchups, one that former Rep. Marie Newman (D-Ill.) argued was “a clear attempt to appease one person and a small handful of affluent insiders at the expense of workers and working families on Chicago’s Southwest Side and suburbs.”

Rep. Mike Bost (R-Ill.), whose district encompasses parts of southern Illinois, lamented Pritzker signing an assault weapons ban earlier this year and his handling of the COVID pandemic. He also expressed concern that the state was becoming the “abortion capital of the Midwest” and had driven out businesses like construction equipment company Caterpillar.

“He pushes an agenda that’s very popular in inner big cities and Democratic areas, but as far as how it’s going to fly across the central United States and battleground states, I really don’t know,” Bost said of speculation that Pritzker could mount a White House bid. 

Former Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.), too, noted that he and Pritzker had areas of policy disagreements, including the governor’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and the state’s cash bail legislation. He argued that “many of the policies his administration implemented during COVID led to a devastating effect for kids in our communities and in our schools.”

Yet, he noted that the pandemic also served as an area where the two were also able to work together.

“Politically speaking, we fought especially during COVID with some of the responses coming from his office I disagreed with, but in the end — in the end, there were times that he listened to my suggestions too, and I got to give him and his team credit for that,” the Illinois Republican said.

For now, Pritzker has appeared to signal that he’s likely not to challenge President Biden in 2024, saying in an interview on CBS’s “Face the Nation” last month that “I don’t think there’s anybody that’s serious, that’s actually considering running against Joe Biden, because he’s done such a great job.”

Mike Ollen, his campaign manager, too downplayed questions about Pritzker’s future plans, saying that the Illinois governor, whom he described as a “happy warrior,” “loves the job that he has, and he’s excited to continue to do that job” while noting that he’d be supporting President Biden and Vice President Harris in the next election cycle.

But that doesn’t mean that his campaign is shying away from the speculation, either.

“It’s not shocking to me that a governor who has been as successful as J.B. has, both on the fiscal management side and leading with progressive policies as J.B. has, is getting some recognition on the national stage that I think comes with the territory that when you’re a successful big state governor, people are going to talk about it,” Ollen said.

For now, Democrats are largely planning on Biden running again in 2024. But some members of the party have sounded a positive note about the prospect of a future Pritzker White House bid after next year’s presidential election.

That includes Schakowsky, who said she’s planning on supporting the president next year and called the governor a “very, very good White House contender.”