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Politico
Tracy
TracyUpdated Oct 16, 2026, 2:28 PM ET
JB Pritzker, a Democrat and businessman who has been governor of Illinois since 2019, is seeking a third term in 2026 in a rematch with Republican Darren Bailey.
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Live TruthIndex™ and prediction market consensus for races contested by JB Pritzker.
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Pritzker, Bailey trade jabs in race for governor | Illinois
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker speaks at a podium to supporters at the State Fair's Governor's Day campaign event.
No story this week names this candidate.
- Born
- January 19, 1965
- Birthplace
- Palo Alto, California
- Education
- Milton Academy
Georgetown University
Duke University (Bachelor of Arts in political science)
Northwestern University School of Law (Juris Doctor, 1993)
Biography & Campaign Analysis
Background
Jay Robert Pritzker, born on January 19, 1965, in Palo Alto, California, is a son of Sue and Donald Pritzker, the latter president of the family-owned Hyatt hotel chain, and spent his early childhood in Atherton, California.
His father died in 1972, and at age 12 he relocated to Chicago, where he lived with his uncle and aunt, Jay and Cindy Pritzker.
After Milton Academy, a Massachusetts boarding school, he attended Georgetown University and then moved to Duke University, completing a Bachelor of Arts in political science; in 1993 he received a Juris Doctor from Northwestern University School of Law.
With his brother Anthony he started Pritzker Group Private Capital, where he was managing partner until 2017.
Career
After working for Congressman Tom Lantos and Senator Alan J. Dixon, Pritzker ran in the 1998 Democratic primary for Illinois's 9th congressional district, finishing third with 20.5% of the vote. He then became a major donor to Democratic candidates, led the Illinois Human Rights Commission from 2003 to 2006, and was one of the national co-chairs of Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential bid.
Pritzker won the March 20, 2018, Democratic primary for governor with 45.13% of the vote and unseated Republican Governor Bruce Rauner on November 6, 2018, with 54.53% to 38.83%, becoming Illinois's 43rd governor on January 14, 2019.
He won a second term in 2022 over Republican Darren Bailey, 54.91% to 42.37%.
Under his administration Illinois legalized recreational cannabis and increased the minimum wage, and he has widened abortion access, including through the 2019 Reproductive Health Act, and sought changes to income taxation; during his second term he has criticized the second Trump administration.
2026 race
Pritzker announced on June 26, 2025, that he would run for a third term, picking Christian Mitchell, a former state representative, as running mate because Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton is running for the U.S. Senate. He was unopposed in the Democratic primary on March 17, 2026. His Republican opponent on November 3, 2026, is Darren Bailey, who took 54% in the Republican primary, making the contest the first rematch for governor in Illinois since 1986.