Kinzinger Pans GOP Candidates for Illinois Governor: People Would Rather ‘Torch Their Chances’ Than Vote for an Anti-Trump Conservative

Congressman Adam Kinzinger (R- IL) is not running for reelection, but is a governorship in his future?

The outspoken anti-Trump Republican has been considering a possible gubernatorial run in 2022, with incumbent Democratic Governor J.B. Pritzker up for reelection.

In a new interview for Crain’s A.D. Q&A podcast, Kinzinger mulled over his chances compared to the current Republican field.

His assessment, after some hesitance, was to say the crop of GOP candidates is “less than stellar.”

Kinzinger said he likes candidate Jesse Sullivan but isn’t crazy about how “in Illinois, you have this race to the far-right, and it’s not a far-right state.”

“I don’t know how many times I hear people tell me ‘If you just activate the base, we can win Illinois,'” he continued. “Listen, the base is very activated, and we can’t win 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.”

Kinzinger acknowledged it’s difficult for Republicans to win primaries in the current political climate, but added, “I recognize that we’re in a moment where I think there’s some people that would rather torch their chances at winning the Illinois governor’s race than dare vote for somebody that’s a conservative that doesn’t like Donald Trump.”