Experts weigh in on possible presidential campaigns for Pritzker, Emanuel

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel in the coming week will both head to South Carolina, the state that will host the first Democratic presidential primary in the nation in 2028.

Neither Pritzker nor Emanuel has declared his candidacy for president. But both have hinted at it and have been rumored as potential Democratic candidates for some time.

Emanuel has said outright that he is considering a run for president. Just this past weekend, he commented on a possible campaign in an interview on NBC News' "Meet the Press," saying he believes America is ready for a Jewish president, and those who have a problem with his faith shouldn't vote for him.

"My faith is not your problem. The fact that Americans have lost faith in America — that's our problem, and we should work on that, because I've seen a generation of people with emptiness who've lost faith in America, because they think America lost faith in them," Emanuel said on the program Sunday.

Pritzker has not directly stated plans to run for president, emphasizing repeatedly that for now, his plan is to run for another term as governor in the general election coming now up next month.

But speaking on CBS News Chicago's "The Angle," former CBS Chicago political reporter Derrick Blakley said Pritzker is using his run for a third term as governor as a "dry run" for a presidential campaign.

"He's got a cakewalk in his reelection, and he's going to merge the two together, and make this reelection campaign for himself also a preview of his presidential attempt," Blakley said.

Government affairs strategist and former Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady said Pritzker's political skills are not to be underestimated.

"Remember when he was running for governor? His very first interview, I listened to it, and I was a big [Bruce] Rauner guy. I call up my Rauner guys and go, 'This guy's pretty good,'" Brady said. "Don't underestimate his ability to communicate, his likability, and he's got all the money he needs."

As for Emanuel, Brady said for Democrats, it is worth taking note of the former mayor's message too.

"If you watch Rahm Emanuel and what he's saying, I mean, he's got a message I think some of the Democrats want to listen to," Brady said. "He's very, very effective in delivering a more moderate message that probably will be better for the Democrats in the long run."

Blakley agreed that Emanuel is carving out a unique lane in his potential race for the White House.

"He's trying to kind of tell truth to power — the powerbrokers in the Democratic Party. He's coming up with a lot of innovative ideas, practical ideas in education, in foreign trade," Blakley said. "I don't know how much ice that's going to cut on the national level, but he's making some very, very interesting and effective arguments on issues that people are concerned about."

New episodes of "The Angle" air on CBS News Chicago on Sunday mornings at 7:30 a.m.