In what may be one of the few opportunities in years for Republicans to capture the governorship of Illinois, rumors recently grew rampant that Chicago Cubs co-owner Todd Ricketts would seek the GOP nomination against Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
The latest round of "Ricketts for governor" talk was fueled earlier this week when the Wilmette, Ill., entrepreneur resigned as finance chairman of the Republican National Committee.
Ricketts, 52, had been a top fundraiser for Donald Trump before assuming the GOP finance post in 2018.
Although Republicans have only captured the governorship once in the last two decades (2014, with liberal Bruce Rauner who was unseated by Pritzker in '18), hopes are high for the GOP in '22.
"The state of the state is that Illinois is in big trouble and Illinoisans are fed up and desperately looking for an alternative," former Rep. Don Manzullo, R.-Ill., told Newsmax, "This is the exact time for a red sweep."
Pritzker's handling of the pandemic drew poor marks from many citizens throughout the Prairie State. Moreover, the governor supported a statewide initiative last year that would repeal the state's constitutional requirement that a state income tax be a flat rate and allow for a graduated income tax.
The Pritzker-backed measure lost by a margin of 53% to 47%.
"Right now, most Republican primary voters are either not engaged at all, or are playing wait-and-see," said Ottawa, Illinois, publisher Jameson Campaigne, a venerable conservative activist in the state. "Our primary has been moved from March to June next year, so decision-time is a long way off still."
So far, several candidates are exploring and some are actually running for the GOP gubernatorial nod. These range from state Sen. Darren Bailey, a populist conservative who has a strong base in the downstate counties, to venture capitalist Jesse Sullivan (who is suspect among conservatives because of his wife's being an active Democrat).
"None of the rest of the R gubernatorial primary candidates has caught fire with voters, largely in my opinion because most are running 'same-old,' incompetent-Republican-consultant-driven campaigns," Campaigne told us.
Asked whether Ricketts could fill the current vacuum within the Republican gubernatorial field, Campaigne replied: "I haven't seen him in action. I'd first like to see both Ricketts' agenda as well as his ability to talk to regular Illinoisans as well as to the corporate boardroom crowd."
For Todd Ricketts, this will be just one consideration as he ponders a race sure to draw national attention in 2022.
Ricketts' brother Pete is the Republican governor of Nebraska and a staunch conservative. Sister Laura is an active liberal Democrat.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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