Quigley is a Pritzker fan, but says Harris should choose someone else for VP

Vice President Kamala Harris would not go through all of the trouble of vetting billionaire J.B. Pritzker if the Illinois governor wasn’t a legitimate contender to be her running mate — but she would be wiser to pick Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.

Veteran North Side U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley, D-Ill., offered that blunt assessment Tuesday in a wide-ranging interview with the Sun-Times that focused on the presidential race, Harris’ search for a political partner and on the Democratic National Convention in Chicago where Harris will be coronated and retiring President Joe Biden will be celebrated.

Now that North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper has reportedly dropped out of the vice presidential sweepstakes, the handful of remaining contenders include Pritzker, Shapiro, U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky and U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

Although Pritzker represents a state so firmly in the Democratic column, it could be characterized as “navy blue,” Quigley said believes Pritzker has a shot at becoming Harris’ running mate. Pritzker’s name wasn’t just thrown into the mix to round out the list or reward him for being an attack dog against the Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump.

“I don’t think they go to all of the trouble of vetting unless he has a chance,” Quigley said of the governor, heir to the Hyatt Hotel fortune.

“I like the governor. I think he’d be a great vice president and a great nominee.”

But, he added, Harris would be wiser to choose Shapiro.

“I tend to be the pragmatic guy. Who helps you win?“ Quigley said. "There’s no way a Democrat wins in November this year without Pennsylvania. And Shapiro is very popular east-to-west in a massive state."

Quigley knows Harris is “close to Kelly," but he also does not believe Harris should choose Kelly and risk losing his reliable Democratic vote in the U.S. Senate, "given how close the Senate is and how tough it would be to win that seat back,” Quigley said.

Arizona’s Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs would appoint Kelly’s replacement, but "where does Arizona go in the future"? Quigley asked.

"There’s no guarantee. It’s always easier for the incumbent to keep the seat."

Conventional wisdom has long been that presidential nominees should "do no harm" in choosing a running mate — but Trump violated that in choosing Ohio Sen. JD Vance, Quigley argued.

"It would have been so much easier to pick someone who isn't as extreme because I don't think his base is ever going to desert him," Quigley said of Trump.

"If Trump is going to win, he's going to have to expand that ... it's the centrists ... the swing voters who make the difference. And Vance hurts him tremendously with those people in those states."