It's a great day for a ... political fundraiser?
Chicago Cubs CEO Tom Ricketts is using Wrigley Field to stage a campaign event for his brother, Pete, Nebraska's Republican candidate for governor, the Tribune reports.
The choice of venue: predictable. Pete Ricketts' odds of winning Nov. 4's election: positive.
The Cornhusker State's GOP nominee -- who also happens to sit on the Cubs' board -- is polling ahead of Democratic rival Chuck Hassebrook in a race that marks the first time the governor's seat has been wide open since 1998. In July, he led Hassebrook 49-41, according to a New York Times survey. Republican incumbent Dave Heineman hangs up his hat this year after a three-term tenure, paving the way for Pete to take over and continue the state's Republican gubernatorial dynasty.
Tom Ricketts is hosting the funder on Aug. 12 along with brother Todd, sister Laura (an Obama bundler), polarizing Cubs business president Crane Kenney and GOP donor-businessman Ron Gidwitz, said the Trib.
They're asking for donations of $1,000 to attend and $25,000 to chair the to-do, which will run from 6-7 p.m. and precede the Cubs-Brewers game.
The politically active, uber-wealthy family has a history of rocky relations with Mayor Rahm Emanuel, invoking the Chicago boss' outrage in 2012 amid reports that Joe Ricketts -- TD Ameritrade founder and father of the four Ricketts siblings -- was considering bankrolling a multi-million-dollar ad campaign linking President Obama to Rev. Jeremiah Wright.
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A Ricketts clan rep told the Trib that they weren't worried about ruffling feathers this time, saying the family has in the past thrown fundraisers at Wrigley for candidates on "both sides of the aisle" such as the mayor.
