California investor Jesse Sullivan running for Illinois governor as Republican

A California investor and Illinois native is joining the race for governor.

"So today amongst all of you I have an announcement. My name is Jesse Sullivan and I'm running to be the next governor of Illinois. Together lets fight to make Illinois strong," Jesse Sullivan said in a campaign ad.

Sullivan announced his candidacy on Thursday. He was born downstate and has raised more than $11 million, mainly from California, to run in the race as a Republican.

Sullivan is one of four Republicans competing for the GOP nomination.

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Governor JB Pritzker did not seem phased by Sullivan’s announcement.

"Look it's a mess over there on the Republican side. They're beating up on each other. All I can say is I’m focused on the issues that are really important to the people of Illinois," Pritzker said. "Republicans want to take us backward. I want to take us forward."

The election for governor will take place in November of 2022.