Pritzker joins chorus of Democrats backing Biden

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker on Tuesday affirmed his support for President Biden’s reelection bid, joining a chorus of Democratic elected officials backing the president as a handful of House members have publicly called for him to drop out of the 2024 race.

“The president did a great job of answering questions throughout that meeting. Listen, Joe Biden is our nominee. I am for Joe Biden. I’ve been campaigning for Joe Biden,” Pritzker told reporters Tuesday in Chicago.

“I think you’ve seen I’ve got dates scheduled to go to Indiana, to Ohio, for Joe Biden, so Joe Biden is going to be our nominee.”

The comments followed Biden’s closed-door meeting last week with a number of Democratic governors, including Pritzker, who attended in person at the White House.

The comments marked a shift for the Illinois governor, who said last week he wanted to hear more from Biden following his disastrous debate performance.

“When you come off a bad debate, you need to remind people why you’re the right guy to elect,” Pritzker told CNN last week, ahead of the meeting on July 3. “I’d like to see more. There’s no doubt about it.”

Following the meeting, a small group of Democratic governors — Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore — affirmed support for Biden, stating they “have his back.”

Pritzker’s campaign released a shorter statement after the meeting, describing it as “candid,” and it said the governor “appreciated hearing directly from the president.”

Biden has maintained he intends to stay in the race and on Monday rejected calls to drop out in a letter to congressional Democrats, urging them to unite behind his candidacy.

Biden has already won the primaries, taking a majority of delegates, and thus he cannot be overthrown at the Democratic National Convention in August. The decision is ultimately up to him.

When asked about the prospect of a brokered convention should Biden step down, Pritzker brushed off the notion, the Chicago Tribune reported.

“I don’t expect that to happen,” he reportedly said. “We’re going to have an orderly convention.”