CHICAGO, IL — Following Governor Pritzker and Lt. Governor-elect Mitchell’s resounding victory, the JB for Governor campaign released the following statement:
“Governor Pritzker and Lieutenant Governor-elect Christian Mitchell are honored that voters have entrusted them to lead Illinois,” said JB for Governor campaign manager Chris Shallow. “Throughout his two terms, Governor Pritzker has worked tirelessly to lower costs, expand healthcare access, defend workers’ rights, safeguard reproductive healthcare, and so much more. Thanks to his leadership, Illinois remains a beacon of freedom in the Midwest and across the country, even as the president and GOP wreak havoc and harm on the American people. Tonight’s decisive victory demonstrates that Illinoisans wholeheartedly reject the Trump administration’s cruelty and want to keep Illinois moving forward. Governor Pritzker is ready to build on the progress he has already achieved and knows that Christian Mitchell will be an extraordinary partner in that work.”
WATCH GOVERNOR PRITZKER’S VICTORY SPEECH LIVE
Read Governor JB Pritzker’s and Lieutenant Governor-Elect Christian Mitchell’s Election Night Remarks as prepared for delivery below:
GOVERNOR PRITZKER’S ELECTION NIGHT REMARKS AS PREPARED FOR DELIVERY
Thank you, Illinois! Give it up one more time for your next Lt. Governor, Christian Mitchell!
One of the true delights of running for Governor is getting to choose a partner and a leader to run with, as lieutenant governor. If I do say so myself, I’ve hit it out of the park twice now. And starting tonight, one of them will soon be known as United States Senator Juliana Stratton.
There’s a woman I have known for 38 years who has been an unsung champion for the vulnerable and afflicted. When there’s injustice, when people’s rights are under attack, she doesn’t seek attention. She stands in the breach, as an unwavering defender. She is my best friend, the love of my life, and your first lady, MK Pritzker.
To our daughter Teddi and our son Donny: You have grown into good, kind, smart, hard-working adults. You make Mom and me very proud, and we love you more than life itself.
To every volunteer, every precinct captain and phone banker and canvasser, you’ve vanquished the MAGA Illinois GOP and rebuilt the Democratic Party of Illinois. Led by the amazing Chris Shallow, I have the best campaign team in this country. You all made this victory possible.
And to my opponent, Darren Bailey, who ran hard and gave it his all, despite our differences, I know that we both love Illinois. MK and I want to wish you and Cindy the blessings of peace in the days ahead. Let’s commit to work for a time when all our political disputes will be resolved “by the better angels of our nature.”
Illinois, my heart is full tonight with the kind of emotion we Midwestern Dads too often keep to ourselves.
But as I look out at this crowd, I’m reminded how much I LOVE, this great state, and its people. Your kindness and decency, your work ethic and authenticity, your resilience — I am so proud to be governor of Illinois. I love this patch of prairie land, this Union state that built railroads, spawned skyscrapers, split the atom. I love that Decatur is the Soybean Capital of the World, that Morton is the Pumpkin Capital of the World, that Collinsville, is the horseradish capital of the world. I love that we put mustard on our hot dogs and that we tolerate those who put ketchup on them… barely, but still. I love that this is the house, where house music started. I love that the Pope began a journey of faith here, by rooting for the White Sox. And I love that Jake and Elwood — the Blues Brothers — began their journey in Joliet. I love that a great fire, turned Chicago into a hub of entrepreneurs, and that a great lake made us the home of innovation.
I… love… that it was the first Illinois President who taught us how to stick together and that it was another Illinois President who showed us how to hope, for BETTER. I love that over the last eight years, while so much about this country we pledge allegiance to has lost its bearings, Illinoisans have remained steadfast and true. I love that the people here never once fell into the trap of succumbing to the wiles of a petty tyrant, but instead, we recommitted ourselves, to the noble precept that democracy and freedom, go hand in hand; an idea that must be renewed, a bedrock that must be reinforced, by each generation.
I love that we fought, when our neighbors NEEDED us to fight, and that we showed up when we needed to show OUT.
I love being your, Governor.
Public service is a career path too often belittled — but to do so is to betray, the values and hard work of so many people dedicated to making our lives and communities better. From the first responders who run toward danger, to the emergency management teams who keep us out of it. From those at the department of health who watch for disease, to the home healthcare aides who treat it. From the child welfare caseworkers who rescue children from neglect, to the school social workers who prevent it. Road crews and teachers and conservation experts and mental health counselors and librarians — every day each of these people demolish the stereotypes ascribed to them. Every day their public service makes Illinois such a wonderful place to live.
To the staff in my Governor’s office who have never once flinched from any challenge they’ve been forced to confront, any crisis they’ve been asked to endure — you make me proud, and it’s a privilege to work with you.
Now, the night is still young, and we will see what surprises the next few hours hold, but as I stand here I tell you this, the early results across the country are resuscitating a strange feeling inside of me – HOPE.
Because it looks like maybe, just maybe, something is stirring in the conscience of America.
My time as Governor has been grounded in a somewhat radical idea – nothing good can be built on the governing notion that the place you want to change is somehow fundamentally irreparable. HOPE and FEAR, are from the same family. Both demand you believe in a future, you cannot see. Which one you adopt, is a measure of character.
In the world right now, politicians fall into one of two camps. Those that ask you to hope, and those that want you to fear. For eight years, I’ve asked you to join me, in hope. And I’d like to take a measure tonight of what hope, and hard work, has gotten us.
We’ve nearly doubled the minimum wage to $15 an hour.
We delivered universal paid leave for every Illinois worker.
We have no cell phones in our classrooms, and more teachers in our schools.
We require that Black History is taught in every school because Black History IS American history.
And now Illinois has the highest high school graduation rate ever.
We delivered 8 balanced budgets that led to 12 state credit upgrades.
We built a quantum industry that is shaping up to be the envy of the world.
We upgraded our infrastructure entirely with union workers.
We made Illinois a fortress for women’s reproductive freedom.
We, enacted the toughest AI regulations in the country.
We banned, assault weapons.
WE STOOD UP AGAINST ICE INVASIONS.
Oh, and we legalized weed.
And if all of that wasn’t good enough for you – well, hope has also given us a winning White Sox season, and a Bears playoff win over the Packers, and a Chicago Pope.
I can’t really take credit for those last three, but I think GOD has hope in us too.
Our long list of accomplishments is not to say that the work is done. I have confidence in our ability to tackle the challenges ahead. But fear has its place in building what is to come. It’s just important that we fear the right things…
Fear greed. Fear cruelty. Fear corruption. Fear intolerance, and callousness, and unchecked power. Fear politics devoid of empathy.
Fear any leader who does not appreciate a life filled with simple joys,
- who never closed their eyes upon hearing a favorite piece of music,
- who never welled up with unselfish pride at a friend’s accomplishments,
- never told a self-deprecating joke just to comfort another,
- never learned how to apologize simply and sincerely.
Fear any person who doesn’t know how to offer compassion when someone they dislike dies, or kindness when someone who can’t offer them anything, needs it. THOSE are the things we should fear – those are the PEOPLE, we should fear.
We should NOT fear immigrants. And people of color. And women. And the LGBTQ community. We should not fear the beardos and the weirdos. We should not fear the CANADIANS. We should not fear the strange, wonderful mix of diverse opinions and backgrounds and ethnicities that make our communities rich, our food good, our culture strong, our work ethic durable, and our country so uniquely American.
I have one important rule in life – I don’t feast with people beside whom I wouldn’t trust to starve. And it’s always the folks who are struggling, who are persecuted, who are unfairly stereotyped who would give you their last piece of bread if you needed it. That’s the squad with whom I want to roll into the next chapter.
Hope for the best in us. Fear the worst. And remember that courage doesn’t exist WITHOUT fear – it exists TO CONFRONT fear.
People have asked me over the last few years what’s given me the courage to stand up to this President – to this presidency. They’ve asked me if I worry about the insults flung my way from the Oval Office. The answer is I don’t worry about it at all. I’m happy to be something they jeer – because I’ve seen what they choose to cheer.
There is one question I have gotten a lot in the last few months – WHAT’S NEXT?
The answer is simple. I’m going to ask you to continue to hope – and to wrap your hope, in COURAGE. We climbed one mountain tonight. But we are sitting at the base of another. We have a healthcare system we need to break down to the studs and rebuild – one where we put doctors and patients ahead of insurance companies and profits. We have an electoral system that needs real campaign finance reform – because no special interest should be able to simply buy the regulations they prefer. We have a growing group of TECH. ROBBER. BARONS, who need to be told that MONEY, does NOT give them the right to exist outside the rules WE all live by.
And we need to rescue the American dream for the next generation.
It is simply unacceptable that both the essentials and the joys of living life have moved out of reach for almost every working class American. This life – this one precious, beautiful life – needs to be about more than grinding it out every day until the day you die.
It’s this simple: If you go to work in the morning and come home at night, you ought to make enough money to put food on your table… to see a doctor when you’re sick… to live in a dignified home… to save for retirement… and to take a vacation every once in a while. We CAN make that happen, and WE MUST make that happen.
I know, that the last few years have been hard. I know that, it would have been easy for you to lose hope along the way. But at every turn, you’ve shown the resolve and courage that HOPE requires. It’s in YOU, as it is in ME. Hope lives within US.
Tonight is a good night. But the work does not END, tonight.
Tomorrow we wake up with hope rewarded, and purpose renewed.
So I have just one question for you, Illinois.
Are you ready for the fight?
No…I mean it…Are you ready for the fight?
Then go out there with hope and courage, and fight like hell for what’s next!
LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR-ELECT CHRISTIAN MITCHELL’S ELECTION NIGHT REMARKS AS PREPARED FOR DELIVERY
HELLO ILLINOIS! Thank you. Grant me a few moments to take all of this in. And to thank the people I love.
First, I want to thank God, without whom none of this is possible.
To my family and friends –
Mom, you are my inspiration. I love you. I don’t have the words to express how grateful I am for everything you did to make this possible.
To my grandmother Lilly Mae Gist: who taught me about grace and elegance, and who even in the face of the unspeakable despair of Alzheimer’s maintained an inalterable dignity until the day she was called home, I love and miss you.
And to my grandfather, James Gist, my hero: A black man born in the Jim Crow South, who fought for this country before it was ready to fight for him, who built me a playhouse with his own hands, and who first put boxing gloves on mine. Who, when told he had only a short time to live when diagnosed with heart failure, held on because he promised his daughter that he’d be there to see his grandson graduate high school. I know you are watching and are so proud.
My grandfather has been gone almost twenty years: and that I still miss him so deeply is a reminder that how long someone is in your life cannot measure their impact, and that neither time nor death can ever conquer the power of love.
To my teachers and mentors, too many to name, you know who you are. Thank you for your fellowship, support, and love.
To our campaign team you gave this race your nights your weekends and every ounce of your heart.
You made this happen.
To Lieutenant Governor Stratton, who we can now proudly call SENATOR-ELECT STRATTON: thank you for blazing the path. You made history in this office and you carried it with dignity and authenticity that this state will never forget. I know I have big shoes to fill.
To Governor Pritzker: thank you for trusting me to stand beside you. Thank you for your decency. Thank you for your kindness. Thank you for standing up, over and over, to everything Illinois has faced during your tenure: whether it was a once in a lifetime pandemic or the MAGA plague in Washington, you have protected and uplifted the people of this state, and we are all so grateful for the man and leader that you are. I can’t wait to keep building a better Illinois with you.
And to the people of Illinois: Thank you for the faith and the confidence you have placed in me. I am deeply grateful and truly humbled.
Tonight, you have given me more than I ever dared to ask. Because, and I cannot believe I’m saying this… you have just elected me the next LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS!
When I was a kid my mother taped a quote to my bedroom door.
It said: “The greatest use of a life is to spend it on something that will outlast it.”
Those were the first words I saw each morning and the last I saw each night.
My mother lived by those words. She was a nurse in the neonatal intensive care unit at Rush for nearly 40 years. The babies in her unit were the smallest, most fragile patients in the entire hospital. Their parents were more frightened than they had ever been. And my mom was there with them through every alarm, every setback, and every long night of waiting for good news. Growing up, she used to bring me along to the preemie picnics for the babies who had come through her unit. I remember a park full of joy full of happy families. Kids who had once weighed just a few pounds were running around laughing and getting into all kinds of trouble. Those kids would grow up and go on to have their own families. THAT is what it looks like to spend your life on something that will outlast it. That is a life spent in service to others.
I saw the same commitment in my grandfather. He dropped out of school in the eighth grade. He served as an Army sergeant in Korea and worked as a union steelworker. He worked hard every day so that the people he loved could go further than he did.
He used to tell me: “Boy, America ain’t perfect. But it’s the best we got and it’s worth fighting to make it better.”
I have been trying to follow their example ever since.
Everything I have done in my life and everything I hope to do comes back to their example: that we can be optimistic about a brighter future by believing that it’s possible, and then dedicating ourselves to making that future a reality. That belief binds everyone in this room tonight.
Our victory tonight is the work of thousands of volunteers across this state. They knocked on doors, they made phone calls, and they drove their neighbors to the polls. For that, I am grateful and I am also hopeful.
Because the people who powered this campaign, they come from every city, village, town, and hamlet in Illinois. They are nurses and farmers teachers and steelworkers – small business owners and students – retirees and first-time voters. They are people of every background and every faith from every kind of family that calls Illinois home. And every one of them, every one of YOU believes, as JB and I do that a better Illinois is ours to build. If we build it together.
Now, some will say that’s naive. See we are living in a moment when the loudest voices online and on our televisions would have us believe that we are hopelessly divided. But I have now traveled to every corner of this state from the river towns of the Metro East to the farm fields of Woodford County to the busy streets of Chicago.
And everywhere I go, I find proof that we are far more united than they’d have us believe. The worries across Illinois are the same: rent, cost of groceries, childcare costs, whether our elders will be cared for. But the hopes are the same too. And so is the decency, the plain kindness of people who look out for a neighbor and make room for a stranger.
Those experiences are why this campaign was never fueled by fear or anger. It was fueled by the old-fashioned small-d democratic notion that we, the people have it in our power to meet these challenges and surmount them. Not as every man or woman for themselves, or as players in a zero-sum game not as Chicago vs. Downstate or Democrat vs Republican. We have to do it together.
The challenges of our time: crushing health care costs, an American dream that has grown too expensive, the rise of artificial intelligence, the thousand-year floods now happening every year are daunting, and they cannot be solved by a single person or even a single community.
To quote Dr. King, “We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.”
And I know in my bones that when we stand together, there is no challenge too big for the people of Illinois.
That’s the Illinois I believe in. An Illinois where every family can afford to live and thrive. An Illinois where your rights are protected and respected. And an Illinois where the circumstances of your birth determine only where you start and never not ever where you finish.
And tonight, Illinois proved it.
Because tonight the grandson of a union steelworker raised by a single mother has just become the first Black man ever elected lieutenant governor of the greatest state in the nation.
And know this: whether you voted for us or not, JB and I will work to continue our progress, we will fight to make your life better and to make you even prouder to call Illinois home. So tonight we celebrate: but tomorrow, the work begins again.
Thank you, Illinois. God bless you.
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CONTACT: press@jbpritzkercampaign.com