Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker cruised to a win to secure a second term in office Tuesday, but his victory speech quickly drew speculation over whether he plans to seek a higher office - a presidential one.
Touting a victory for women's rights and warning against conservative extremism, Pritzker challenged Illinois voters with a message of "Are you ready to fight?" in a speech that some believe could be a hint his sights are set beyond Springfield.
Speculation over a potential presidential run has been ongoing for months in the lead-up to the election.
In a report from the New York Times late last year, Pritzker was noted to have "talked privately about his interest in seeking the White House at some point should the opportunity arise."
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"I have no intention of running for anything but election for governor," Pritzker said at the time.
"Of course people have mentioned this to me, on occasion, but I've never had a conversation with anybody about it," he added of the reports. "I have never spoken to anyone privately or publicly about that."
The Illinois governor has notably been raising his national profile in recent months, with a trip to New Hampshire fueling a number of questions ahead of Illinois' primary election in June.
But on Tuesday, Pritzker sounded like a different candidate. Mere paragraphs were reserved for his Prairie State pursuits including a comfortable living wage, robust health care, and virtually unfettered access to abortion, despite the Supreme Court's upending the landmark Roe v. Wade decision.
Instead, he warned of a “cancer” that has spread through “one ideological wing" of his rival Republican party, lead by Trump, who has suggested he'll attempt a comeback.
“They’ve had ample opportunity to treat the disease and they have refused to do so at every turn. The result has been treasonous insurrectionists tearing down the doors of the U.S. Capitol, the maiming of Capitol Police and an attack on the 82-year-old husband of the speaker of the House with a hammer in his own home," Pritzker said, referring to last month's attack on Paul Pelosi.
But in post-election remarks Wednesday, Pritzker denied mulling a presidential run, instead saying "I am focused on serving as governor for the next four years."
Pritzker said that as long as President Joe Biden plans to seek reelection he looks "forward to supporting him."
"I look forward to hopefully getting the convention here in Chicago so that we can re-nominate him and reelect him," the governor said.
As for his speech, and the lack of mention of his opponent, Pritzker said it was simply "about the values of the two parties."
"I was expressing my values. These are my values," he told reporters Wednesday. "You know that I helped to build a holocaust museum here. You know that I have fought against hate really for my entire life. I really believe that the Republican Party MAGA Republican ideas, Donald Trump. That party has been taken over entirely clearly. And so I wanted to make clear what I stand for."
Pritzker, who defeated incumbent Bruce Rauner in the 2018 election, will be sworn in for a second term in office in 2023, along with Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, after defeating Bailey and Republican Lt. Gov. candidate Stephanie Trussell.
In a speech to supporters, Bailey said he will "never stop listening to your voices."
"I just spoke to Gov. Pritzker and congratulated him on his win tonight," Bailey said, noting, "I may not be going to Springfield as your next governor, but I will never stop fighting for you."
Pritzker poured millions of dollars of his personal fortune into the race, touting his record on improving Illinois’ economic outlook while balancing the state’s budget and paying off its backlog of bills.
The governor also emphasized his administration’s work in protecting abortion access rights in the aftermath of the Supreme Court decision overturning the Roe v. Wade precedent.
The latter argument was made forcefully by Pritzker’s campaign to cast Bailey as a conservative extremist that would strip Illinois women of their access to the procedure, with Bailey previously stating he did not support abortion, even in cases of rape or incest.
Bailey was also criticized for comparing abortion to the Holocaust, and was painted as too conservative for Illinois voters after receiving the endorsement of former President Donald Trump.
For his part, Bailey received significant financial backing from billionaire Dick Uihlein, who poured at least $50 million into political action committees that ran a series of attack ads against Pritzker.
Those ads largely focused on issues of crime in Illinois, with Pritzker’s administration blasted for its support of the “SAFE-T Act,” which Bailey argued would cause thousands of criminal defendants to be released from prison on “non-detainable offenses.”
Bailey also criticized Pritzker’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, having filed suit against the governor’s “stay-at-home” order in 2020. He argued that Pritzker was a “thief” that had robbed children of “precious memories” with his administration’s emphasis on virtual learning during the pandemic.
