MOORE’S SUMMARY: Ever since launching his first campaign for governor in 2017, Gov. JB Pritzker has ended his political speeches with a question: “Are you ready for the fight?” Now in the final year of his second term, running for a third and perhaps eyeing a 2028 presidential bid, Pritzker is bringing that message national with the launch of a political action committee that will target Republicans running in House districts won by President Donald Trump in 2024.
‘READY FOR THE FIGHT’: The PAC, Ready for the Fight, will be run by Pritzker’s political team with the governor serving as an honorary chair and pledging at least $20 million in support of the midterm effort.
The PAC said it will soon place ad reservations against “the worst of the worst MAGA Republicans,” specifically highlighting Rep. Max Miller, R-Ohio, and candidate Brandon Herrera of Texas, who are running in districts that voted for Trump by 11- and 15-point margins, respectively. Miller has been accused of domestic violence by his ex-wife and Herrera has been referred to by Republicans in the past as “a goose-stepping extremist” and “known neo-Nazi.”
The goal from Pritzker and his team seems clear: Use the billionaire’s vast wealth to expand the map of pickup opportunities for Democrats deeper into Republican territory.
“Well, I think that the ones that are easier to flip are certainly attracting all the attention and a lot of the resources, and so I wanted to be helpful in these last eight weeks in those districts where I think maybe we can just push people a little bit over the top,” Pritzker said when I asked him Tuesday after an unrelated event in Bloomington.
“They may be in districts that are R+5 or R+7, where perhaps because of the national mood and the desire for change will lead to a Democrat getting elected in a district that you might not have otherwise expected,” Pritzker said, referring to Cook Political Report’s Partisan Voting Index. “So that’s where we’re focusing our resources.”
Pritzker added, however, that the PAC may play a role in swingier districts, too.
WHY IT MATTERS: It is another example of Pritzker escalating his national profile. In recent years, he’s been one of Trump’s most pugnacious Democratic critics, taking on the president on cable TV, social media, and even via video in the streets of Chicago during last year’s immigration crackdown.
He’s eschewed the ideological debate between the party’s progressives and moderates, arguing that the real divide, if one exists, is between ‘Team Fight’ and ‘Team Cave.’
It’s also another example of the governor — long one of the most prolific donors in Democratic politics — putting his money where his mouth is.
Remember: After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Pritzker founded and donated millions to Think Big America, a dark money nonprofit group advocating for abortion rights in states where the issue was on the ballot.
Unlike Think Big, an issue-oriented non-profit that can engage in political activity not as its primary purpose, Ready for the Fight is a Super PAC that can engage in unlimited political spending if it isn’t coordinated directly with campaigns.
Pritzker’s also donated to candidates and causes in his personal capacity. And he’s traveled the country extensively delivering keynote speeches at state Democratic Party functions.
But let’s not bury too deeply the elephant in the room: Pritzker is widely believed to be considering a 2028 presidential campaign, and his national political activity keeps him in the conversation during the invisible primary. And his donations help build goodwill with key Democrats that could benefit him down the line.
The PAC’s launch video features Pritzker prominently, including several shots of the governor asking assembled crowds during his recent campaign bus tour “Are you ready for the fight?” Also peppered in are clips of Pritzker taking on Trump and urging fellow Democrats to do so, too. It’s what he believes but is also a stance that has an undeniable political benefit to someone kicking the tires on a presidential campaign.
TEXAS: The governor’s next stop? Dallas, Texas, where Republicans are gathering this week for a rare midterm national convention. Pritzker will join Lone Star State Democrats at a press conference on Wednesday to “highlight the chaos, cruelty, and corruption of the Trump administration,” per his campaign.
Pritzker has built a bond with Texas statehouse Democrats, first welcoming them to Illinois as they fled to, at least temporarily, deny Republicans the quorum needed to push through a mid-decade redistricting plan intended to secure the party more seats in Congress.
He’s not the only one who will be down south: Both Republican gubernational nominee Darren Bailey and his running mate Aaron Del Mar are expected to attend the convention.
Pritzker called it “a mass convention of failure,” and that “Darren Bailey is of course a sycophant for his dear leader, Donald Trump, and that must be why he’s going.”
NATIONAL IS LOCAL: Responding to criticism that his national efforts may distract from Illinois issues, Pritzker retorted that the current Republican Congress “has been awful for the state of Illinois.”
“We’ve lost SNAP funding. We’ve lost Medicaid funding, so many things that we’ve needed,” Pritzker said. “FEMA has been defunded, and with all the storms that have hit the state of Illinois, we need the Congress to step up to at least push back on the president of the United States, if not to reach some compromise over the next couple of years, so that we can have funding restored to the states, particularly the state of Illinois.”
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