Gov. Adam Kinzinger? IL Congressman Discusses GOP Candidates

CHANNAHON, IL —Republican Adam Kinzinger has made it clear he will not be seeking another term in Congress. But what will the future hold for Kinzinger? Will he decide to run for Illinois governor against Democrat incumbent J.B. Pritzker?

During last week's podcast interview with Crain's Chicago Business, Kinzinger answered several questions about the GOP candidate field for next year's Illinois gubernatorial race.

In early November, Kinzinger said he's considering running for governor, but so far he has not made any formal announcement declaring his candidacy.

Here are some highlights from Kinzinger's podcast interview with Crain's Chicago Business, which carried a headline: 'If I Ran For Governor ... I'm The Only Candidate That Can Win."

When asked about the GOP candidates already running, Kinzinger referred to them as "a little less than stellar. I like Jesse Sullivan a lot, you know, I think he's dynamic. Darren Bailey's trying to exist on masks, you know. That's great, whatever. That will get you a win downstate. You're not going to win the state of Illinois."

Kinzinger reminded Crain's that both the Illinois Senate and House of Representatives are controlled by the Democrats.

"It's a little disappointing when you just look at the fact that in Illinois you have this race to the far right, and it's not a far right state," Kinzinger remarked during the podcast. "I don't know how many times I hear people tell me, 'If you just activate the base, we can win Illinois.' Oh listen, the base is very activated, and we can't Illinois, unless we win back those suburbs, right? The suburbs that Republicans used to win all the time.

"If I ran for governor, I think I'm the only candidate that can win, at least that's out there now. Maybe Jesse Sullivan, again, I like him. But I do recognize the difficulty of a primary in this environment ..."