Obama, Illinois governor’s race....

Obama muscles into Illinois governor’s race

In his home state, the former president leans in hard for the Democratic nominee.

By NATASHA KORECKI

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.

Obama holds perhaps no greater influence than in Illinois, where he began his political career as a state senator, won election to the U.S. Senate in 2004 and launched his presidential bid from the state capital. He remains a popular figure throughout much of the state, particularly in Chicago where he still owns a residence and where his legacy presidential center will be built.

Obama also has deep political ties to Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, the president’s former chief of staff.

“The president is revered in Illinois,” said John Atkinson, former Obama National Finance Committee member. “To the extent he’s willing to take time and let citizens of the state know how passionate he is about Pritzker for governor, I think that moves the needle in a way that perhaps it wouldn’t in other states.”

This isn’t the first time Obama has weighed into Illinois politics — at any level — since he became president. He publicly backed Emanuel for mayor and in 2016, Obama cut a TV ad for little known Chicago resident Juliana Stratton, who was attempting to unseat longtime legislator Ken Dunkin in a proxy war between Rauner and powerful Illinois House speaker and state Democratic Party Chairman Mike Madigan.

Stratton defeated Dunkin and today, she’s Pritzker’s running mate.

Obama’s Pritzker backing puts to rest the notion that the former president was holding any grudge from 2008 when Pritzker backed Hillary Clinton over him.

Pritzker later said of an Obama-Romney matchup: “You just have to pick the best of a mediocre set of choices.”

The Rauner campaign was quick to that video Monday when news of Obama’s video endorsement broke.

According to a Democrat with knowledge of the discussions in the run-up to the video endorsement, Obama didn’t hesitate when approached.

“The ask was made and Obama said ‘yes’ right away,” the Democrat said. “He’s tired of getting the body blows from Trump, and he’s sick about what Rauner did for social services.”

The former president also has had longtime close ties with Pritzker’s sister, Penny. Penny Pritzker raised money for Obama’s 2004 Senate bid and he then tapped her as national finance chairwoman for his first presidential run.

Her early involvement with Obama has been long credited with opening the door to an elite world of campaign financiers who then turned on the spigot, making him a financially viable candidate. Last year, she was tapped to serve on the Obama Foundation’s board of directors.

The foundation is overseeing the design and construction of the Obama presidential center, estimated to cost some $500 million. Earlier this year, the state approved $180 million in infrastructure improvements for the future Obama center.

There is an effort among some state House Republicans, including third party gubernatorial candidate Sam McCann, to reverse that funding.

While Pritzker is heavily favored to knock off the incumbent Rauner in November, he’s also battled a GOP narrative that he’s cut insider deals and is too close to Madigan, the state’s premier power broker.

Rauner’s campaign has also invested millions of dollars in TV ads linking Pritzker to imprisoned ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich — who was convicted on charges including attempting to cash in on his power to fill the Senate seat left vacant by Obama’s 2008 election as president.