Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker speaks during the Unity Dinner at the Talley House on the campus of N.C. State University in Raleigh, N.C., on Saturday, July 26, 2025. ©Alan Wooten | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – Expressing the values of the party and fighting together are pivotal to North Carolinians winning 2026 midterms, as is making a change in the White House three years from now, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker says.
“Folks, 2026 can be our year, but we’re going to have to fight for it,” the second-term Democratic governor from the Midwest told a packed room Saturday night at the Talley House on the campus of N.C. State University. “And the values at our rallies need to be front and center.”
In a roughly 25-minute speech, Pritzker both back-slapped friend Roy Cooper and his campaign for U.S. Senate and shouted down second-term Republican President Donald Trump. He sought to energize the partisans and explain how the messaging works best – showing voters the values of the party.
It is a state party that, a month ago in executive committee, passed a resolution against Israel calling for the United States to withdraw support of its closest Middle Eastern ally. And a state party that is in decline in registration numbers.
The Duke University graduate chuckled with the crowd, saying he couldn’t find fellow Blue Devils. He also rallied them to applause and shouts of encouragement.
“I’ve been around long enough to many times hear the talking heads declare each party dead on the table,” Pritzker said. “The reports of demise of any political party are always greatly exaggerated.”
Democrats included, even as the ground where he spoke has been in a two-decade free fall. On Jan. 1, 2004, the state’s more than 5 million voters were split 47.6% Democrats, 34.4% Republicans and 17.7% unaffiliated. Today it’s barely above 30% for his party and falling, almost a dead heat with the Grand Old Party, and independents have soared to more than 38%.
Head to head, the net difference of Democrats and Republicans has swung more than 800,000 registrations since 2008 Election Day.
Still, Pritzker practiced what he preached on boldness. In what was easily a presidential ticket audience audition of sorts, the response was receptive. Each encouraged the other.
He’s one of several governors Democrats are checking for 2028. California’s Gavin Newsom, Minnesota’s Tim Walz, Maryland’s Wes Moore and Kentucky’s Andy Beshear are other notables visiting annual state party conventions, though Walz – on 92 of the 108 days in Kamala Harris’ ticket last year – says he won’t if he chooses to run for governor again.
More could be out there. Pennsylvania’s Josh Shapiro is the biggest governor name, though he’s more low-profile nationally in 2028 presidential circles talk. And the potential tickets are certainly not limited to governors.
For Pritzker, he's a fly in the ointment of Democrats' rally cry against the wealthy. He spoke of policies that hurt every day, middle class Americans.
Yet, Pritzker’s state is a Democratic trifecta and ranks No. 37 in tax competitiveness, according to the most recent analysis by The Tax Foundation. The report says Illinois is No. 13 in individual income taxes, No. 38 in sales taxes, No. 41 in property taxes, No. 42 in corporate taxes, and No. 43 in unemployment insurance taxes.
North Carolina – where Republican policies of the last 15 years have turned the consensus of metrics about the economy – is No. 12 overall in the same report. Respectively by category, the Tarheel State is Nos. 21, 16, 20, 3 and 7.
He talked about what could happen in the future of North Carolina and the country economically, saying he had taken over and changed a poor fiscal situation in Illinois.
In the most recent analysis by the Reason Foundation released in December, state debt liability is $247.9 billion in Illinois – behind only California’s $498.1 billion. It's $31.5 billion in North Carolina, better than 31 other states. Per capita, North Carolina is ninth best; Illinois is only better than Connecticut, New Jersey and Hawaii.
"Folks love Gov. J.B. Pritzker," said Anderson Clayton, chairwoman of the North Carolina Democratic Party. "He’s someone that I think has really taken on the Trump administration like we need to see from the Democratic Party right now. It’s a great way to showcase the party that fights back."
Pritzker described the values and fights as being different than what Republicans are telling voters.
“It’s wrong to snatch a person off the street and ship them to a foreign gulag and not give them a chance in a court of law,” he said. “It’s about the Constitution, not immigration policy. They’re literally arresting U.S. Citizens in broad daylight.
“They’re not criminals. Law-abiding people, people paying taxes for decades, are being forced to go into hiding because of black or brown skin.”
Pritzker said, instead, that immigrants’ contributions are “incalculable.”
“Our nation’s economy depends on attracting the best and the brightest to our shores,” he said, referring to Trump policies causing many college students from foreign countries to leave.
He went on to take swipes at a number of Cabinet members, saying Education Department Secretary Linda McMahon “hates teachers and doesn’t know the difference between AI and A-1 steak sauce.” He more than once called Tom Homan, Trump’s appointed border czar and the interim director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, “ICE Barbie.” Pritzker said Homan knows nothing of keeping America secure, even as border numbers from the government are without dispute showing the most secure in the history of the country.
Pritzker also spoke on behalf of the vulnerable, farmers, small business owners, autistic children and soldiers.
“Our values are where they ought to be,” he said. “It’s time to stop apologizing when we’re not wrong. It’s time to stop surrendering when we need to fight.”
The governor reminded the dinner crowd this party “built Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. We created the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act. And we have to fight like hell to preserve them.”
He indicated regulation is necessary for development of artificial intelligence.
And he said the story being written by Democrats in 2026 and 2028 is “a chance to leave a story of restoration.”
Americans, Pritzker said, are wondering who will fight for them.
“When we emerge from this, and we will emerge from this, our Democratic agenda must be bold,” Pritzker said. “And our ideas fearless. America needs us. We must be willing to slay sacred cows and get things done.”
“We must deliver on an agenda centered on working families who truly make America great.”