JB Pritzkers falling poll numbers in his home state should come as no surprise.
A new poll conducted by M3 Strategies on behalf of the Illinois Policy Institute reveals that Gov. Pritzker is nowunderwaterwith Illinois general election voters. The reason? While hes focused on building a national profile and appealing to far-left primary voters, hes alienating the very people who elected him governor.
Its no secret Pritzker has his eyes on the White House. And the first step on that path is winning over national Democratic primary voters. Over the past year, hes made increasingly radical policy moves and public statements designed to impress the progressive wing of the party – but those same moves are costing him credibility with moderates and independents back home.
Take taxes. Pritzker has repeatedly slammed Trumps tariffs as a “tax on working families.” Yet under his leadership, Illinois now hassome of the highest gas taxes in the country– after he more than doubled the rate. Hes also supported, approved, or enabled hikes in vehicle registration fees, income taxes, and countless other revenue grabs. On his watch, Illinois now leads the nation in property taxes – a real tax on working families that he owns entirely.
On education, Pritzker caved to teachers unions by letting the”Invest in Kids”school choice program expire – a program that helped roughly 10,000 low-income students escape failing or unsafe schools. Many of those kids now have no alternative but to return to the very schools they fled, some due to threats of violence. Supporting school choice might be controversial with national union leaders, but its popular with Illinois parents – across the political spectrum.
In his effort to raise his national profile, Pritzker gave a fiery speech in New Hampshire calling formass protests and disruption- a tone that may win points with the activist class but strikes many voters as reckless. Most Americans – including most Democrats – oppose road-blocking protests, riots, and lawlessness. They want safe communities, not soundbites.
Then theres the governors hypocrisy on political maps. Hes now attacking Texas over alleged gerrymandering, yet he signed into lawone of the most egregiously gerrymandered maps in the country. Despite Kamala Harris winning Illinois with just 53.47% of the vote, Democrats occupy 82% of the states congressional seats. Pritzker campaigned on supporting “fair maps” – and then did the exact opposite.
Hes even gone so far as to double down on allowing biological males to compete in girls sports, a stance thats out of step not only with moderates but also with many center-left voters, especially parents.
The message is clear: JB Pritzker is trying to impress national Democratic activists while ignoring the real concerns of Illinois voters. But the polling suggests the voters are paying attention – and theyre not impressed.
If the governor wants to be president someday, he may want to start by governing his own state a little better.
Mark Batinick was an Illinois state representative from 2015 to 2023. He was the Illinois House Republican floor leader from 2019 to 2023. He is now a policy advisor for the Illinois Policy Institute.
