Politics
Pritzker Praises Biden After He Ends Reelection Campaign, While Johnson Backs Harris
Left: Gov. J.B. Pritzker is pictured in a July 2023 file photo. (Jerry Nowicki / Capitol News Illinois) Right: Mayor Brandon Johnson speaks outside Roseland Mental Health Center on May 30, 2024. (WTTW News)
Illinois Democrats reacted Sunday to President Joe Biden’s announcement that he would end his bid for a second term by praising his service to the nation, while Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson immediately endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris.
“President Biden united the country by defeating Donald Trump in 2020 and Chicago is grateful for his leadership and his service,” Johnson said in a statement. “Today, President Biden cemented his legacy as the rare leader who puts people above himself.”
Johnson called Harris “the visionary leader that we need now to defeat the threat of another Trump presidency” and said he would work to ensure she becomes the 47th president of the United States.
Harris “has proven herself as a fearless defender of our democracy,” Johnson said.
A former California senator and attorney general, Harris said she would run for president.
Just two Democratic members of Illinois’ congressional delegation did not immediately join Johnson’s endorsement of Harris: U.S. Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi, of Chicago, and Eric Sorenson, who represents the Quad Cities and Rockford.
U.S. Rep. Sean Casten, of Downers Grove, said he was confident Harris, 59, would beat Trump, 78, while U.S. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García, of Chicago, said the Democratic Party must unite behind the vice president, who would become the first woman to become president if elected.
A former San Francisco prosecutor, Harris led the fight for abortion rights after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and led efforts to reduce illegal immigration.
Biden’s shocking announcement means the stakes of the Democratic National Convention — already sky high — intensified, as Democrats have just 29 days until they are scheduled to pick their nominee. Biden wasted little time in endorsing Harris as the party’s new nominee, but it was unclear whether the Democratic Party would follow his lead.
For the first time in 56 years, the party’s nominee will not have entered a single primary contest. The last time a sitting president abruptly dropped his bid for reelection was 1968, when former Vice President Hubert Humphrey replaced former President Lyndon Johnson.
Massive anti-Vietnam War protests outside the 1968 Democratic National Convention, also held in Chicago, triggered a police riot, highlighting the party’s split over the war and helping to elect former President Richard Nixon. Those images indelibly stained Chicago’s reputation as a home for political conventions.
Read More: From Immigration to Public Safety, What a Trump Victory Could Mean for Chicago
Biden’s decision also rachets up the pressure on Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a billionaire who has made no secret of his ambition for national office.
Pritzker’s name was often included on lists of potential candidates for president and vice president after Biden’s debate performance on June 27 created a firestorm of concern about the 81-year-old’s age and cognitive ability to defeat Trump and serve an additional four years in office.
Biden’s four years in office represent the “most accomplished and effective presidencies of our lifetime,” Pritzker wrote in a statement.
Instead of immediately following Biden’s lead and endorsing Harris, Pritzker, 59, trained his rhetorical firepower on Trump.
“We must not ignore the threat posed by Donald Trump’s potential return to the White House,” Pritzker wrote. “Donald Trump is a 34-time convicted felon, adjudicated to have committed sexual assault, a racist, homophobe and misogynist. Trump brags about taking away a woman’s right to choose, wants to rip healthcare away from tens of millions of people, proposes economic policies that will cost the middle class thousands of dollars a year, and threatens the fundamental American ideals we hold dear.”
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Illinois), the second-highest ranking Democrat in the U.S. Senate, praised Biden for putting “the country first.”
“Now the Democratic Party must unite behind a candidate who can defeat Donald Trump and keep America moving in the right direction,” Durbin said. “I will do everything in my power to help that effort.”
U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Illinois) echoed Durbin’s praise of Biden.
"No one has done more for working Americans than Joe Biden – and so many of us owe him a debt of gratitude for everything he’s done to improve our country,” Duckworth said.
Neither Durbin nor Duckworth endorsed Harris, their former colleague.
Lisa Hernandez, the chair of the Illinois Democratic Party, which will send 178 delegates to the convention, praised Biden’s record in office.
“President Biden navigated some of the most challenging times in recent history–and without failure, he showed us that he is a man of the people,” said Hernandez, who was handpicked by Pritzker to take over the party. “President Biden’s legacy is defined by his empathy, resilience, and steadfast commitment to the American people.
Aaron Del Mar, a spokesperson for the Illinois Republican Party, highlighted the turmoil engulfing the Democratic Party, and blasted Pritzker’s record.
“Democrats are divided, torn apart by their own duplicity trying to pass off President Biden’s inability to fulfill his role, while Republicans stand united behind President Trump and an agenda of freedom, prosperity, and safety,” Del Mar said. “We as Illinois Republicans must continue to call attention to JB Pritzker’s tax-and-spend, pro-criminal agenda that drives families away from this state to protect the rest of the nation.”
Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | [email protected]
