Governor J. B. Pritzker announced on July 1 that Christian Mitchell (A.B. ’08), UChicago’s vice president for civic engagement, will serve as his running mate in the 2026 Illinois gubernatorial election.
Mitchell would replace the current lieutenant governor, Julianna Stratton. Stratton, who has served alongside Pritzker since 2019, is running to succeed retiring Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.).
Mitchell previously served as a state legislator from 2013–19, representing parts of Hyde Park; as a deputy governor of Illinois from 2019–23; and as the executive director of the Democratic Party of Illinois in 2018.
In a video published by Pritzker’s campaign, Mitchell spoke about being drawn into public service out of a desire to make life better for Illinois families.
“As difficult as life can be, I believe it can be a little bit easier if you’ve got leaders in government who care about working families, making life more affordable, making healthcare more accessible,” he said.
While serving in the Illinois General Assembly, Mitchell cosponsored a bill reforming Illinois’s public education funding strategy. The bill, which focused on expanding funding for public schools, was initially vetoed by Republican Governor Bruce Rauner. It was signed only after legislators established credits for private school scholarship donations.
Both Mitchell and then gubernatorial candidate Pritzker opposed the tax credit, which the assembly did not renew in 2023.
Mitchell also cosponsored the Police and Community Relations Improvement Act, which mandates that law enforcement agencies operating in Illinois maintain policies for investigating “officer-involved deaths,” including that investigations must be conducted by a third-party agency.
During Pritzker’s first term, Mitchell, then serving as a deputy governor, led efforts to pass legislation that legalized marijuana, established a $45 billion capital fund for infrastructure investment, expanded access to reproductive healthcare, and raised the minimum wage in what was described as the “most momentous legislative session in decades.”
He also oversaw several state agencies, including the Illinois Department of Corrections, Emergency Management Agency, State Police and National Guard, and Environmental Protection Agency.
During his tenure at UChicago as vice president of civic engagement, Mitchell has managed the University’s relationship with state and local government, overseeing the Office of Civic Engagement and the Office of Business Diversity and Commercial Real Estate Operations. When he was appointed in 2023, he was tasked with furthering the University’s goal of promoting economic and civic development on the South Side.
Neither the Pritzker campaign nor Mitchell responded to requests for comment.
