Gov. JB Pritzker has given $5 million to a super PAC supporting his longtime running mate, Juliana Stratton, in her bid for the U.S. Senate, silencing critics who questioned whether he would help boost her candidacy financially.
The self-funding billionaire governor is the top contributor to the Illinois Future PAC, which Stratton’s opponent U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi has tried to label a “dark-money” group. A required Federal Election Commission report filed on Saturday shows the PAC’s contributions, which are not “dark.”
In total, the political action committee reported raising $6.3 million through the end of 2025, with a spokeswoman adding that the PAC’s fundraising has now exceeded $10 million.
Jennifer Pritzker, the governor’s cousin, also gave the PAC $1,050,000, with her wife contributing $50,000.
The haul is much needed for Stratton to get her message out in TV ads. Krishnamoorthi, Stratton and U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly are now all airing ads in the contentious race to win the open seat held by Sen. Dick Durbin, who is retiring after five terms.
The Democratic governor endorsed Stratton a day after she announced her bid for Durbin’s seat — and many questioned whether he would support her financially. The multi-million dollar bump will help her campaign, but it also comes about six months after Krishnamoorthi, the fundraising leader in the race, began airing TV ads.
Krishnamoorthi has inundated airwaves and digital sites with ads about his upbringing and his policy plans. The ads, and his vast campaign fund, have helped him take the lead in the race, according to multiple polls.
He, Kelly and other federal candidates have until the end of the day Saturday to file their campaign finance reports.
The governor in November gave his own reelection campaign $25.5 million. Gov. Pritzker and first lady MK Pritzker were the largest individual contributors to the host committee for the DNC in Chicago last year, giving $5.6 million through a trust fund.
“I will continue to support her,” he said of Stratton in April. “Very importantly, this is somebody who’s gonna campaign and win votes one-by-one and all across the state.”