Vowing to shield Illinois from President Donald Trump “and his malignant clown car in Congress,” Gov. JB Pritzker announced his run for a third term as the state’s chief executive Thursday by trumpeting the progressive wins of his first seven years as a counterweight to “chaos and craziness” from Washington.
The Democratic incumbent returned to the Grand Crossing Park Field House where he launched his first run for governor in 2017, this time with a speech that wouldn’t require much editing to work on a presidential campaign trail.
Bemoaning a moment in which “everything is too damned expensive” and “fascist freak show fanatics” have ascended to power, Pritzker positioned himself as a “happy warrior on behalf of our state,” with “no greater fight than the one to protect the working families here.”
“It turns out that Illinoisans of all shapes, races, sizes, backgrounds, sports allegiances, professions and political persuasions were ready to be happy warriors, too. Sometime over the last seven years, I looked up and realized I was surrounded by an army,” Pritzker told a packed gym of supporters inside the sweltering field house, next to his wife, MK Pritzker.
“There is power in saying out loud: The story of Illinois is not set in stone. And we should justifiably feel proud of who we are, where we come from and where we are trying to go.
“I ran for governor in 2018 to change our story. I ran for governor in 2022 to keep telling our story. And I am running for governor in 2026 to protect our story,” Pritzker said.
The 60-year-old billionaire’s South Side rally was the first of four crisscrossing the state on Thursday, with stops in Rockford, Peoria and Springfield, all touting legislative achievements from the legalization of marijuana and a ban on assault weapons to expanded abortion protections and nine credit rating upgrades for the state.
Pritzker didn’t use Trump’s name in his new stump speech, beyond referencing “the megalomaniac narcissist in the White House and his malignant clown car in Congress.”
But before blazing his latest campaign trail, Pritzker directly called out the president in a one-minute, 45-second video making his opening case for reelection.
“Donald Trump’s made clear he’ll stop at nothing to get his way,” Pritzker says in the ad, set in an idyllic farm-side locale in downstate Chestnut. “I’m not about to stand by and let them tear down all we’re building in Illinois.”
Scarcely mentioning Illinois Republicans who are relegated to superminority status in Springfield, Pritzker’s Trump-heavy opening salvo is sure to fuel more speculation around the governor’s 2028 presidential ambitions.
He sidestepped questions from reporters about committing to serving out a full third term if he wins.
“I want to be governor of Illinois. That’s four more years,” Pritzker said.
Nor would the governor reveal who will join him at the top of the ticket for the March 2026 primary election. Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton will depart Pritzker’s administration as she runs for the U.S. Senate seat soon to be vacated by Sen. Dick Durbin.
Pritzker said his running mate would be announced “shortly,” with Cook County Democratic Party slating set for next month and candidate petitions circulating later this summer.
“They’ve got to live up to the standard that’s already been set by the best lieutenant governor our state’s ever had, Juliana Stratton. Second, they’ve got to be somebody who can do the job if something happens. … Just as importantly, [it has to be] somebody who really has a heart for the people of the state of Illinois,” Pritzker said.
Though long expected, his reelection campaign announcement settles part of the political game of musical chairs among Illinois’ most powerful Democrats that has resulted from Durbin’s impending retirement.
Had Pritzker not opted to become the first Illinois governor in more than four decades to seek a third term — there aren’t term limits in the state — former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel had expressed interest in a statewide run. But the heavyweight Chicago Democrats still could very well end up meeting in a presidential primary.
Pritzker unseated Republican former Gov. Bruce Rauner in 2018 and blew out former GOP state Sen. Darren Bailey in 2022.
Republican candidates are still lining up for their latest bout with Pritzker, a Hyatt hotel heir who pumped some $350 million into his first two gubernatorial campaigns.
Former DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick has thrown his hat in the ring, as have south suburban mechanic Phil Perez and former north suburban congressional candidate Joseph Severino.
U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood, Cook County GOP chair Aaron Del Mar and former Illinois National Republican Committeeman Richard Porter are mulling bids for governor.
“These last nearly eight years under [Pritzker’s] governance merit firing, not rehiring,” Illinois GOP chair Kathy Salvi said in a statement. “While businesses and families flee, Pritzker sees Illinois as nothing more than a stepping stone for the White House.”
