# J. B. Pritzker, WTF are you thinking?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/j-b-pritzker-wtf-are-you-thinking/967180>\
**Category:** Politics & Elections\
**Created:** [June 30, 2022, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/j-b-pritzker-wtf-are-you-thinking/967180 "2022-06-30T13:07:32Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
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**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\
**Post date:** [June 30, 2022, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/j-b-pritzker-wtf-are-you-thinking/967180/1 "2022-06-30T13:07:32Z")

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I don’t pay much attention to Illinois state politics, so I wasn’t aware of this until I saw the primary results yesterday:

Gov. Pritzker, a Democratic billionaire who easily won renomination, _ **financed his GOP challenger’s primary campaign** _.

> **[Downstate conservative Darren Bailey, boosted by Democratic ads and Trump...](https://www.chicagotribune.com/politics/elections/ct-illinois-primary-gop-gov-20220629-tcxwhqrqivdgpdwsdp7vd4lkdy-story.html)**
>
> Bailey won handily in a six-man field, including dispatching Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin, who was assisted by $50 million from billionaire Ken Griffin.

> [Bailey’s] victory was assisted by more than $40 million in advertising by Pritzker and the Pritzker-supported Democratic Governors Association, which ran ads attacking [GOP opponent Richard] Irvin while labeling Bailey as “too conservative for Illinois.”

This earns a double WTF from me.

**WTF #1:** Bailey is a full-Trumpist wingnut who backs the Big Lie and all the worst of GOP positions. While Pritzker is likely to beat him, you can’t take anything for granted these days. If a red wave captures enough Illinois voters, we’ll be stuck with this jackass in the statehouse for four years.

**WTF #2:** How blatantly un-democratic is it to pick your opponents? Nothing screams “deep state” like a billionaire spending his own money to fuck with the other side’s primary. I know, “politics ain’t beanbag,” but IMO this is pure sleaze (even if it’s right out in the open).

I’ll still vote for Pritzker in November because I simply can’t vote GOP. (And yes, and I know who I sound like.) But I’m just a little ashamed to be an Illinois Democrat this week.

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