Pritzker shoots down speculation that he will run for president

CHICAGO - Governor JB Pritzker is taking a victory lap, celebrating a successful election night for Illinois Democrats.

Pritzker won a second term Tuesday night with a big double-digit victory.

The Associated Press called the race for Pritzker about nine minutes after polls closed. The victory defied predictions that a Republican red wave would help GOP challenger Darren Bailey unseat him.

Speaking to the press Wednesday morning, Gov. Pritzker highlighted his accomplishments and tried to debunk speculation of a 2024 presidential run.

"I am not focused on that at all. I am focused on serving as governor for the next four years," he said. "The most important thing to me is we have a lot of challenges that Illinois needs to overcome. We gotta work hard on it and I’ll be doing that," he said.

Gov. Pritzker is a billionaire. He dropped more than $155 million into his own reelection bid.