For a man who's publicly supported "No Kings" protests against the actions and policies of the Trump Administration, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is sure starting to look like a king ... or at least a king-maker.
He remains a generally popular chief executive of the state after almost two full terms in the job, has made over the apparatus of the Illinois Democratic Party, and has bolstered the party's super-majority in both houses of the Illinois General Assembly.
And his biggest political triumph may have been on display last Tuesday, when his hand-picked Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton vaulted past a crowded field of Democrats to capture the party's nomination for the U.S. Senate seat now held by the venerable Dick Durbin. Stratton's victory came despite being out-fundraised and out-spent by the candidate many observers viewed as the front-runner, northwest suburban Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, and despite the presence of another prominent Black woman in Illinois politics, South side and south suburban Congresswoman Robin Kelly.
Stratton's candidacy was surely bolstered by her boss' endorsement, which came the day after she announced her entry into the race, but it also got a big boost when the Pritzker-aligned super PAC "Illinois Future" deployed a barrage of commercials supporting her. And her roughly 80,000-vote (unofficial) margin of victory over the better-funded Krishnamoorthi, whose ads had been on the air since last summer, will be a factor as national Democratic leaders consider the party's potential standard-bearer going into the Presidential election cycle in 2028.
In addition, his endorsed candidate to succeed state Comptroller Susana Mendoza, Chicago state House Democrat Margaret Croke, beat three other candidates (including Mendoza's pick) in the primary ... in a race that the Associated Press didn't call until nearly two days after the polls closed.
I asked the governor during his appearance this week at Cinespace Chicago whether the outcome of Tuesday's election made him a king-maker in the Democratic Party ... and he deflected.
"Did you use the word 'king' or 'cake'-maker?" the Governor responded to laughs from the crowd of elected, union and business leaders on Stage 21. "People have said I'm a cake-eater," he continued, in a reference to comments about his weight.
He then insisted that Stratton's victory in the Senate race - despite being outspent - was a testament to her strength as a candidate: "It's because she's a genuine person who people believe. When she stands up and says what she believes in, people look at her and understand she's been advocating for them her entire career."
Stratton will ultimately win or lose against GOP nominee Don Tracy on her terms, and you can expect Republicans to put up a vigorous fight to elect the state's first GOP U.S. Senator since Mark Kirk a decade ago. But strategists advising Tracy would be well advised to remember Omar's fateful words from Season 1 of The Wire: "You come at the king ... you best not miss."