Pritzker selects former Deputy Gov. Christian Mitchell as running mate
[July 02, 2025]
By Ben Szalinski
Gov. JB Pritzker announced Tuesday that former Deputy Gov. Christian
Mitchell will be his running mate for the 2026 campaign.
Pritzker’s selection, made just days after announcing a third campaign
for governor, comes from a close circle of trust in Pritzker’s
administration. Mitchell previously served in the governor’s office as
one of four deputy governors overseeing key projects in Pritzker’s first
term.
“Christian Mitchell is a proven leader with deep experience, steady
judgment, and an unshakable commitment to the working families of
Illinois,” Pritzker said in a statement. “Whether it’s transforming our
clean energy future, rebuilding our infrastructure, or keeping our
communities safe, Christian has been a force behind so much of our
progress. I couldn’t ask for a better partner to continue delivering
results for the people of Illinois.”
Mitchell, 38, will replace Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton on the ticket as
she seeks the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate.
Mitchell comes in with hefty experience in state government and public
policy. A resident of Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood, Mitchell served
three terms in the Illinois House beginning in 2013 and was executive
director of the Democratic Party of Illinois in 2018 before joining the
governor’s office in 2019.
Lieutenant governor role
Mitchell left Pritzker’s administration in early 2023 to become vice
president for civic engagement at the University of Chicago where he
oversees government relations. Mitchell was appointed by Pritzker last
year to an unpaid seat on the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority
board, which oversees Navy Pier and McCormick Place. He is also a first
lieutenant in the Illinois Air National Guard.
“The governor has led with courage and compassion, and together we’ve
built a foundation that’s moving Illinois forward,” Mitchell said in a
statement. “I’m ready to build on that progress — lowering costs,
expanding opportunity, and making sure every community has the resources
and opportunities they deserve. This is about delivering real results
for the people of Illinois, and I’m excited to get to work.”
Though the lieutenant governor has few constitutional responsibilities
in Illinois, Pritzker has leveraged the position to task Stratton with
leading key legislative initiatives and overseeing the implementation of
some of his administration’s top priorities at state agencies.
If Pritzker is elected to another term, the role will hold greater
importance as Pritzker considers running for president in 2028.
Pritzker’s election to the presidency would require Mitchell to serve
the final two years of his term.
While keeping Mitchell’s selection under wraps, Pritzker told reporters
in recent days he was looking for a running mate who was ready to
immediately step into the governorship if required.
“The number one qualification is, ‘can you do the job of being governor
because if you’re lieutenant governor, that may come to you,’” Pritzker
said Monday.
“The second thing I think about is person who I might choose for
lieutenant governor somebody who has a heart for all the people of
Illinois, not just some or some specific segment of the population
because we have a big, diverse state,” he said.
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Gov. JB Pritzker has chosen Christian Mitchell to be his running
mate in the 2026 gubernatorial election, replacing Lt. Gov. Juliana
Stratton, who is running for U.S. Senate. (Capitol News Illinois
illustration; Photo by Dun Boyer, Wiki Commons, CC Attribution-Share
Alike 4.0 International license)
Deputy governor role
Deputy governors in Pritzker’s administration have a chief of staff-like
role, overseeing specific policy areas and state agencies. Mitchell was
in charge of environmental policy, infrastructure and public safety.
In 2020 and 2021, Mitchell oversaw the negotiations of Pritzker’s
marquee climate policy — the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act. It
massively reformed the utility and energy industry and requires all
fossil fuel power plants to close by 2045.
Mitchell was responsible for representing the governor in negotiations
around the bill and was the face of the Pritzker administration as it
went through the legislature.
That law, passed in the wake of a bribery scandal with Chicago’s
electric utility that forced former House Speaker Michael Madigan to
resign, cemented Pritzker’s reputation as a progressive on climate
issues.
In the years since, energy experts and some lawmakers involved in
passing the law have raised concerns that the state is at risk of
missing the clean energy targets that Mitchell helped codify.
Mitchell also oversaw the implementation of the 2019 Rebuild Illinois
capital plan – a $45 billion construction project to rebuild roads,
bridges and other infrastructure across the state.
Recreational cannabis regulation was also Mitchell’s responsibility.
Pritzker signed legislation in his first year legalizing cannabis for
recreational use and setting up a series of regulations for dispensaries
and new social equity requirements.
Other experience
As a state lawmaker, Mitchell was chair of the House Economic
Opportunity Committee.
Mitchell also brings heavy political experience to the ticket. Democrats
swept races for statewide offices in 2018 and won supermajorities in the
Statehouse with Mitchell serving in a top leadership role under former
party Chair Mike Madigan. He took over for Tim Mapes, Madigan’s former
chief of staff who was accused of sexual harassment and is now serving
time in prison for a perjury conviction.
He has also worked as an advisor on several political campaigns in
Illinois, including leading Midwest polling for former President Barack
Obama’s 2012 campaign.
Andrew Adams contributed.
Capitol News Illinois is
a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state
government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is
funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R.
McCormick Foundation. |
