(Bloomberg) -- The arrival of thousands of people in Chicago for the Democratic National Convention this week marks the culmination of years of groundwork by Illinois Governor JB Pritzker to elevate the city " and himself " to the national spotlight.
The extraordinary wealth that Pritzker has at his disposal is a double-edged sword in Democratic politics," said Stephen Nelson, a political science professor at Northwestern University.
"He has this tie to a massive family fortune, but that will alienate some of the less business-friendly members of the Democratic Party."
It's a challenge Pritzker acknowledges, but believes he's overcome before.
"You all remember that back in 2018 our party was not exactly begging for me to run for governor," Pritzker said Monday at an event for Illinois Democrats in Chicago.
"No one was crying out for a white, Ukrainian-American, Jewish billionaire. I get it, I get it. But I'm a Democrat."
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As the de facto host, Pritzker will have the opportunity to be close to the people who will choose future presidential nominees, said Marc Farinella, a longtime Democratic political consultant and a senior adviser to the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy.
"It's widely speculated that Pritzker is interested in someday running," Farinella said. "He may very well be well-positioned to do that."
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As the de facto host, Pritzker will have the opportunity to be close to the people who will choose future presidential nominees, said Marc Farinella, a longtime Democratic political consultant and a senior adviser to the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy.
"It's widely speculated that Pritzker is interested in someday running," Farinella said. "He may very well be well-positioned to do that."
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Fundraising was Pritzker's entre into politics. He was among the biggest donors to Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign. Penny Pritzker, meanwhile, a friend and supporter of Obama's since the early 1990s, was finance chair of the former president's 2008 election campaign.
Even outside Democratic politics, the family is a veritable bingo card of elitist symbols frequently targeted by the right. Penny Pritzker heads the governing board at her alma mater Harvard University. She also served in the Biden administration as a special representative for Ukraine's economic recovery.
Tom, a cousin, is chairman of Hyatt Hotels Corp., the hotel group founded by his father Jay, and chairs Washington think tank the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Cousin Jennifer, a retired Army lieutenant colonel, made headlines for becoming the first transgender billionaire. Other cousins include movie producer Gigi, progressive-tax advocate Liesel and Linda, a Tibetan Buddhist teacher living in Montana.
Financially, the family members " descendants of Nicholas Pritzker, a Ukrainian immigrant who arrived in Chicago in 1881 " have largely gone their separate ways over the past two decades"
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