Pritzker picks former deputy, state Rep. Christian Mitchell as running mate

Gov. JB Pritzker selected former Democratic lawmaker and top aide Christian Mitchell of Chicago to join his reelection ticket as a candidate for lieutenant governor Tuesday.

The move comes as current Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton campaigns for the U.S. Senate in the 2026 election and speculation swirls about Pritzker running for president in 2028.

And the choice of a trusted, experienced politico who would free the governor to campaign for the White House doesn’t dampen those rumors, one expert told the Daily Herald.

If Pritzker plunges into an all-absorbing presidential campaign, Mitchell would be a loyal, competent second-in-command, political scientist Kent Redfield said.

“If you wanted somebody that knows Pritzker, knows the legislative and executive (branches), and could manage the governor’s office if the governor was running for president, it certainly would make sense,” added Redfield, University of Illinois at Springfield professor emeritus.

Also, “this is not giving a boost to someone who’s at the top of people’s lists to run for governor or secretary of state or attorney general,” Redfield said.

In his announcement, Pritzker called Mitchell “a force behind so much of our progress.”

“I couldn’t ask for a better partner to continue delivering results for the people of Illinois,” he added.

Mitchell said he is ready to build on the progress of the Pritzker administration in “lowering costs, expanding opportunity, and making sure every community has the resources and opportunities they deserve.”

Mitchell served behind the scenes as Pritzker’s deputy governor during his first term in Springfield, where he helped pass the Rebuild Illinois capital program and environmental legislation. Before that, he served three terms in the state House.

He currently is a deputy staff judge advocate in the Illinois Air National Guard and vice president for civic engagement at the University of Chicago.

Lieutenant governors are usually low-profile figures, but Pritzker typically included Stratton in media briefings and events. That’s not expected to change with Mitchell who — in the event Pritzker runs for president and succeeds — would become governor in January 2029.

“He wouldn’t have offered it to (Secretary of State Alexi) Giannoulias and Giannoulias wouldn’t take it, because Giannoulias doesn’t want to sit around for four years waiting for Pritzker to decide if he’s going to run for a fourth term or not,” Redfield said. Giannoulias’ name has surfaced as a possible governor candidate.

Assuming Pritzker wins reelection, Mitchell would be sworn in as lieutenant governor in January 2027.

Mitchell credited his mother, a hospital nurse, and his grandfather, a U.S. Army sergeant and steelworker, for his positive upbringing. “They both taught me what it was like to care about your family and work really hard,” he said in a video.

“That’s why I wanted to go into public service because as difficult as life can be I believe it can be a little bit easier if you’ve got leaders in government who care about working families, making life more affordable, making health care more accessible.

He graduated from the University of Chicago and Loyola University School of Law.

“As the people of Illinois get to know Christian better they’re going to see someone who cares deeply for the working families of Illinois, about the middle class, and for our most vulnerable,” Pritzker said.