Gov. J.B. Pritzker cites ‘private conversations’ in declining to discuss VP possibility

Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Thursday continued to sidestep questions about whether he’s under consideration as a potential running mate for Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign, again saying he would not discuss “private conversations.”

The comments were Pritzker’s first to local media since President Joe Biden dropped his reelection bid over the weekend, and came a day after Pritzker gave his strongest indication yet that he’s being considered for the job. During an interview with CNN, the governor said he wouldn’t comment on “private discussions” when asked if Harris’ campaign staff had contacted him for vetting as she seeks a running mate.

He took a similar tack Thursday.

“I have had a number of conversations with people — I do regularly — with the campaign, and as you know I’ve been traveling the country to promote the Biden-Harris ticket, and now the Harris-led ticket,” Pritzker said at an event unveiling security measures for the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. “I don’t want to talk about any private conversations that I’ve had.

“But I will say that I have said directly to the vice president that I’m going to do everything and anything that is necessary to make sure that we beat Donald Trump and JD Vance.”

Asked if he had been contacted about being vice president at any time, Pritzker said “I’m not going to talk about that.”

Pritzker also specifically said “the Harris campaign did not call me yesterday,” contradicting a Sun-Times report Wednesday that the campaign had called him that day to feel him out about the vice presidential opening.

Pritzker was an ardent supporter of Biden’s reelection bid until he withdrew from the race in favor of Harris on Sunday. Previously among names being considered as a possible replacement for Biden, Pritzker endorsed Harris’ presidential bid Monday and immediately found himself mentioned as a potential running mate.

Pritzker, a billionaire entrepreneur and heir to the Hyatt Hotel fortune whose net worth is estimated at $3.5 billion by Forbes, is the nation’s wealthiest elected official and his money could prove attractive in the Democrats’ effort to retain the White House against former Republican President Donald Trump.

More than just traveling nationally in a surrogate role for the Democratic ticket, Pritzker has been a vociferous critic of Trump, regularly labeling him “a racist,” “a homophobe,” “a grifter” and “a felon.” Traditionally, vice presidential candidates take the attack dog role, allowing the top of the ticket to remain above the fray. That model has been flipped on its head in the era of Trump-style politics.

Since Biden’s announcement Sunday that he wouldn’t seek reelection, Pritzker has done national interviews with MSNBC, CNN and CBS News, outlets that often serve as potential auditions for politicians seeking higher office or looking to increase their visibility.

Pritzker said Thursday he’s not putting himself out before the public “for tryouts.” Asked whether his chances to be Harris’ running mate could be hurt because Illinois is not a swing state, often a key consideration in choosing a vice president, Pritzker said: “I’m not thinking about my chances. I’m thinking about her chances.”

He also discussed what he thinks a presidential candidate should look for in a running mate.

“The number one thing you think about, about a number two, about whether it’s a lieutenant governor or vice president, is someone who can actually take over the job if something were to happen to the president,” Pritzker said. “The number two, of course, is someone that you’re compatible with, you can talk to, bounce ideas off of, and who can advance the cause” of the campaign.

The Illinois governor is thought to be on a list of potential running mates that includes Govs. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Roy Cooper of North Carolina and Andy Beshear of Kentucky as well as U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona.

In his CNN interview, Pritzker said there had been a “palpable” change among Democrats since Biden stepped out of the race and that Harris was bringing new energy to the party just in time for the Chicago-based convention that he will host.

“The convention itself is a palpably exciting event now, and I think inside the hall, you’re going to see Democrats coming together and supporting the person I think is going to be our nominee. And that’s Kamala Harris,” he said.

Under rules adopted by the Democratic National Convention’s rules committee that are aimed at ensuring the party’s presidential and vice presidential candidates appear on all 50 state ballots, Harris must name a running mate within the next two weeks.

The DNC faces an Aug. 7 deadline and plans to hold a virtual vote by delegates to select a presidential candidate. Under the rules, voting by delegates on a presidential nominee can begin no earlier than Aug. 1.

Harris has already secured backing from a majority of convention nominating delegates.

The rules say that once the presidential nominee is selected, the nominee may place a vice presidential candidate into nomination, with Minyon Moore, the convention chair, declaring that candidate to be the party’s vice presidential nominee.

At the convention, “celebratory and ceremonial votes” of the delegates will be taken including a state-by-state roll call on the presidential nominee, convention officials said.