Pritzker again denies he’s running for president

[March 07, 2023]  By Greg Bishop | The Center Square

(The Center Square) – Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker again denies he’s aiming to leave office for a role in the White House.

Time and again, Pritzker has had to swat down assertions he’s aiming to vye for the Democratic presidential nomination for the 2024 election. On CBS Sunday, Pritzker reacted to The New York Times’ recent headline that he’s keeping his options open as a possible fall-back candidate for the Democrats if Biden doesn’t run.

“I’m supporting Joe Biden, he’s running for reelection and he’s going to get reelected,” Pritzker said. “I’m just happy that people think of me in that way, that’s certainly very flattering, but I intend to serve out my term as governor of Illinois.”

Pritzker contends that Biden has a record to run on, and batted down any notion of a legitimate challenge to the incumbent.

“I don’t think there’s anybody that’s serious that’s actually considering running against Joe Biden because he’s done such a good job,” Pritker said.

President Joe Biden has yet to make an official announcement that he will seek a second term in the 2024 election. At least one Democrat, Marianne Williamson, has announced a challenge in the Democratic primary.

Despite denying he’s eyeing the White House, Pritzker has taken to the national stage on political messaging. He had previously made allegations ahead of local school board elections set for next month in Illinois that some candidates want to “ban books” or “ban Black history,”, but hasn’t named anyone particularly.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on CBS's "Face The Nation" television program.
facethenation YouTube

When pressed for clarity on CBS Sunday, Pritzker alluded to Florida reevaluating controversial subjects in Advanced Placement course material.

“When they’re trying to dive in and take over an AP history exam and edit it, and edit out parts that they don’t like, that’s banning history,” Pritzker said.

Last month, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis made a stop in Illinois where he raised his concerns about controversial curricula ranging from teaching about gender ideology to young ages or what he called “critical race theory” in schools. .

“So the goal of critical theory with respect to police is to basically sow a hatred amongst very young people for those who are wearing the uniform and in Florida we reject that,” DeSantis said at a stop in Elmhurst last month. “That is totally inappropriate and that is wrong.”

Neither Pritzker nor DeSantis have announced if they’re running for President.

Greg Bishop reports on Illinois government and other issues for The Center Square. Bishop has years of award-winning broadcast experience and hosts the WMAY Morning Newsfeed out of Springfield.