Sangamon Sun

GOP gubernatorial candidate Jesse Sullivan noted the citizens of Illinois are tired of “career politicians” as Richard Irvin announced his entrance into an increasingly crowded primary field.

Sullivan, 37, is a tech entrepreneur who was born and raised in the Menard County.

“As a capitalist and a former athlete, I love competition, including for elected office,” Sullivan told the Sangamon Sun. "But the people of Illinois are sick of career politicians who have been given ample opportunity to fix our state.”

Irvin, 51, would be the state's first black governor if elected. Since 2017, he has served as Aurora's mayor, a post to which he was re-elected in 2021.

According to GOP officials, although running as a Republican, Irvin voted in Democrat primaries in 2014 and the last two presidential election cycles in 2016 and 2020.

“Illinois deserves a true conservative political outsider who can lead in making Illinois strong. I am the candidate who can save Illinois,” Sullivan said.

Irvin launched his candidacy for governor on Jan. 17 — alongside State Rep. Avery Bourne (R-Pawnee) as his running mate for lieutenant governor — running as a tough-on-crime former prosecutor.

Sullivan has similarly deemed the crime problem a “failure of leadership.”

According to the Chicago Sun Times, Irvin has the support of billionaire hedge fund entrepreneur Ken Griffin, who has been a vocal opponent of Gov. J.B. Pritzker and has threatened to relocate his company, Citadel, and its 1,100 employees abroad.

Griffin announced in November that he will be endorsing a candidate in the state, which is run entirely by Democrats. According to NBC reports, Grifffin plans to spend $300 million on the campaign. That would be greatly above the total spending of about $207 million in the 2018 race, according Reform Illinois, which was the most expensive governor's race in Illinois history.

Sullivan also has a prominent supporter in Silicon Valley billionaire Chris Larsen.