Neither has said anything even remotely official, but it’s clear that both Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel currently are publicly exploring a run for president of the United States, even if both men are too smart to enter a race they have concluded they cannot win.
Bring it on, gentlemen, say we.
Each man represents a different faction of the Democratic Party and has articulated its goals. Pritzker, who has endeared himself to the party’s progressive wing, would surely have to run to the left of Emanuel, who has staked out an explicitly centrist position. Broadly speaking, the differences between the two typify the internal debate Democrats will have to face before (or if) they can sufficiently unify to regain power. Of course, Pritzker would find it relatively easy to tack right in a general election, should he win the primary, and Emanuel would surely figure out how to at least dance a little in the opposite direction in the primary. If necessary.
Had Pritzker decided not to run for an additional term as governor, of course, that would have teed up Emanuel to run the state (in the Democratic view) and leave the presidential race to Pritzker. No doubt that was in our governor’s mind, but with his announcement Tuesday that he is running for a third term, it became clear that he had decided his candidacy will be far stronger if it is launched from the governor’s mansion than as a private citizen. Hard to argue with that.
“We’re going to continue to be friends, but if we’re running for the same position, it will be awkward,” Emanuel told NBC News.
Awkward? Maybe. It’s far too early to assess anyone’s chances and either or both may yet demur. But we think a presidential campaign by either or both men can only be good for Chicago and Illinois.
Pritzker and Emanuel are nationally familiar names. They both command widespread support and fervent opposition. They both have resources, albeit one more than the other. They both are smart, thoughtful men. They both are highly competent managers, which would be a pleasant change. And in our view, they both genuinely love the city of Chicago and wish it to grow and prosper.
We’re saying nothing at this juncture about anyone’s chances to win anything. But we do think two credible presidential campaigns launched from Chicago would inevitably put the city into the center of the national conversation, and the history of the rise of Barack Obama teaches us that we always do better when we land there, even if dirty laundry inevitably gets aired.
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This editorial, published Monday, was updated Tuesday to reflect Gov. JB Pritzker’s announcement that he is running for a third term as Illinois governor.
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