Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker won a third term Tuesday night and told supporters the result was a sign that the national mood may be shifting. Pritzker, a Democrat, defeated Republican Darren Bailey, PBS News reported.
"It looks like maybe, just maybe, something is stirring in the conscience of America," Pritzker said after the race was decided. He also warned that the work was not finished. "We climbed one mountain tonight," he said. "But we are sitting at the base of another."
The win makes history in Illinois. Pritzker is the first Democrat ever elected to a third term as the state's governor.
It was also a rematch. Bailey, a former state lawmaker, was the Republican nominee against Pritzker in 2022 and lost that race as well.
Pritzker is a billionaire businessman and an heir to the Hyatt Hotel fortune. He has become one of his party's best-known governors and is widely seen as a possible candidate for the White House in 2028. A third-term win in a big state keeps him in that conversation.
His victory was part of a strong night for Illinois Democrats. Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, who twice ran on Pritzker's ticket and had his endorsement in a hard-fought primary, won the state's open U.S. Senate seat. She will succeed retiring Sen. Dick Durbin.
Pritzker's remarks fit how Democrats were framing the midterms as results came in. They pointed to voter frustration over prices and to their hopes of winning back at least one chamber of Congress. Raw 100.5 will keep tracking the night's results as more races are called across the country.
Sources: PBS News, The Associated Press