Tracy Considers Jumping Into Governor's Race
Then-Illinois GOP Chairman Don Tracy speaks at a party gala in 2024. (Photo: Chicago Tribune)
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With a thin field of Republican contenders for Governor emerging before the start of petition circulation next week, former Illinois Republican Party Chairman Don Tracy says he is considering launching a run for the state’s top office next year.
Tracy, of Springfield, served as Illinois GOP Chairman from 2021 until the Republican National Convention last year, resigning after multiple efforts from conservatives on the GOP’s state central committee to oust him from the post.
He previously served as Chairman of the Illinois Gaming Board from 2015-2019 and ran for Lt. Governor in 2010, finishing third in a field of six candidates.
“I'm giving it a hard look,” Tracy said Monday. “I'm seriously considering it.”
Tracy, a senior counsel at Springfield law firm Brown, Hay, & Stephens, says he’s not intimidated by billionaire Governor JB Pritzker’s self-funded campaign for a third term, which some analysts have considered “inevitable.”
“[JB] Pritzker has presided over an era of decline, relative to other states, Tracy said. “His approval ratings certainly are not intimidating. He seems to be more focused on running for president. I think we need a good candidate for that position, and I'm thinking I could run a credible campaign. I have a fair amount of experience in this sort of thing, and I think I know how to raise money enough [to compete].”
Even though he battled with different factions inside the GOP while chairman, Tracy, 75, says he would focus on bringing Republicans together.
“As state chair, I was the chairman for everybody, all Republicans. The moderates to the more conservatives and I would want to campaign for all of their votes and not just focus on any narrow segment,” he said. “We're a minority party and we need all the Republican votes, all the conservative votes. We need the soft R's, the independent votes. And we need soft D's, too. If I were to run, I would be campaigning for all those different groups.”
The only announced GOP candidate for Governor is DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick, who had around $100,000 in his campaign account at the end of June. Cook County GOP Chairman Aaron Del Mar, right wing media company executive Ted Dabrowski, and Rep. Blaine Wilhour (R-Beecher City) are all reportedly considering a run for Governor.
Tracy said he plans to make a final decision by the State Fair.
