Governor Pritzker of Illinois keeping options open as some Democrats seek new blood for Biden replacement

Could Illinois Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker serve as the deeply progressive candidate to provide political relief and optimism for his party in the 2024 presidential election, as the Democratic Party grows concerned about President Biden’s age and ability to serve?

According to Fox News, Pritzker dismissed speculation that he might mount a political challenge to Biden, who has said for months that he intends to run for re-election in 2024. However, Pritzker, who was re-elected to a fourth four-year term as Governor of Illinois in November, is keeping his options open for future political endeavors.

In an interview with The New York Times, Pritzker, the heir to the Hyatt Hotel fortune, declined to say whether he would make a presidential bid. However, he insisted that the Democratic Party’s last-ditch effort to replace Biden as its presidential nominee in 2024 was “such an odd hypothetical if you ask me.”

Regarding Biden’s age, Pritzker told the outlet, “I think it assumes a lot of things about someone who’s 80 in this world today. No kidding, you know, 80 is a lot different today than it was in the ’80s.”

Pritzker, who has an estimated net worth of $3.6 billion, could fund a presidential campaign on his own, according to Forbes’ most recent estimate. And with the support of those in his state, as well as the connections he’s made with other prominent members of his party across the country, Pritzker’s chances of winning the White House if he decides to run, aren’t all that bad.

“He would run for two good reasons,” Ray LaHood, a Republican who served as secretary of transportation during former President Obama’s first term in the White House, told the outlet. “He’s a billionaire who’s not afraid to spend his own money, and he’s very progressive, which is where the Democratic Party is today.”