-Source-Politico-
On the sidelines no more, President Barack Obama flexed his political muscle in his home state on Monday.
In a boost to billionaire Democrat J.B. Pritzker’s gubernatorial bid, Obama went beyond his customary political comfort zone, leaning in hard by cutting his first video on behalf of a candidate in the 2018 midterm elections.
The roughly 90-second video, currently airing on social media, is expected to be turned into a TV ad. Pritzker, the brother of Obama’s former Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, is trying to unseat Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner in a race that’s already seen more than $200 million in spending — and is on pace to become the most costly governor’s contest in U.S. history.
Pritzker has invested about $127 million of his own money in the race to date.
“I know J.B. I trust J.B. and that’s who he is, someone who’s always thinking about how he can make a difference. Somebody who identifies the right problems and brings the right people together to solve them,” Obama says, looking into the camera. “And that’s something we can use in Illinois. J.B. will be a governor who looks out for all of us.”
Traditionally a reluctant political kingmaker, Obama in early August released an endorsement list of 81 Democrats in 14 states running for the House and Senate, governor, and down-ballot state legislative races.
But the Pritzker video represents a more significant investment of his political brand, a step beyond simply providing his imprimatur. Obama now is expected to roll out additional “candidate-specific” videos across the country leading into the midterms, according to a spokesman. Read more
Comments