UPDATED: Pritzker Reloads for November
Governor JB Pritzker at a New Hampshire Democratic Party event in 2025. (Photo: AP)
Billionaire Governor JB Pritzker has reloaded his campaign fund with another $65 million in personal dollars for the final stretch of the fall campaign.
According to a State Board of Elections posting Monday night, Pritzker made the cash influx August 10.
Pritzker has given his state campaign $90.5 million since he launched his campaign for a third term last year and brings his total personal contributions to over $439 million since launching his first campaign for Governor in 2017.
Pritzker’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment on the latest cash infusion.
UPDATE: Asked about the money on Governor’s Day at the Illinois State Fair Wednesday, Pritzker defended the barrels of money he’s injected into his campaign.
“I’m working to elect myself, [Lt. Governor nominee] Christian Mitchell, Democrats up and down the ballot. Working hard to make sure that message is heard by people all across the state of Illinois. So, I’m going to continue to invest in that endeavor,” he said. “We Democrats, particularly in this moment, with Donald Trump in the White House, with Darren Bailey, who simply wants to bring Donald Trump’s policies to the state of Illinois, we have got to beat them.”
Pritzker pushed back on allegations he’s “a rich guy buying the seat.”
When asked by Time Magazine earlier this year about using his immense wealth for campaigns, Pritzker downplayed the impact.
“It’s not like every wealthy person is a terrible person or can’t understand other people, or every poor person can’t understand the importance of, let’s say, a business succeeding,” Pritzker says. “I don’t think it matters what your income level is. I think what matters is what your experiences are and what your values are.”
A spokesman for Pritzker’s Republican opponent, former State Senator Darren Bailey, who is deeply outgunned by Pritzker’s wealth, is attacking Pritzker’s cash dash.
“This isn’t normal. It’s everything people hate about politics embodied in one billionaire: unlimited money, unlimited power and zero understanding of what working families are going through,” said Bailey’s campaign manager, Jose Durbin. “JB can spend whatever the hell he wants. Illinois families are still worse off because of his leadership.”
Before his latest cash infusion, Pritzker filed with around $3.1 million cash on hand at the end of June. Bailey had around $128,000 cash on hand. He has raised another $66,000 in large donations since July 1 and an additional $50,000 loan from himself. Independent Collin Corbett had around $379,000 cash on hand on July 1 and has reported a sole $1,000 contribution since July 1.
