Pritzker’s Plea: Back Biden or Risk ‘Throwing Away’ Democratic Votes

Gov. J.B. Pritzker, D-Ill., said Sunday that there were only two viable presidential candidates in the upcoming race and that Democratic supporters were wasting their votes by supporting anyone other than President Biden.

CNN’s Dana Bash challenged Pritzker, who was recently campaigning for president in Michigan, on RFK Jr.’s presidential candidacy, noting that he will be on the ballot in both Michigan and Hawaii.

“Does Kennedy being on the ballot there pose a real threat to Joe Biden’s re-election?” Bash asked. Pritzker cited “very high” enthusiasm among Democrats in the state. RFK Jr. got ballot access in Michigan, a battleground state, on Thursday.

“I believe Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presence on the ballot in Michigan will have minimal impact on the outcome. People recognize that there are only two candidates who can win in this country and Michigan. “And, of course, that’s Joe Biden and Donald Trump,” Pritzker remarked, stressing that the two had “very different values.” Bash argued that the governor was referring to the election as a “binary choice.”

“It’s not a binary choice, and RFK Jr. does provide a third-way for people who just don’t like what Joe Biden, or even Donald Trump for that matter, but in this particular case, it’s Joe Biden I’m asking about, don’t like what he’s selling,” Bash said in a statement.

Pritzker said he wasn’t denying there were other names on the ballot, but he thought Biden was the only viable option.

“I’m suggesting simply that when people go to the ballot box in November, they’re going to see that there are only two choices because it’s throwing away your vote if you’re a Democrat and you vote for someone else on that ballot other than Joe Biden,” said the former vice president.

“And I believe that people will see that contrast of values that I’m talking about and understand that they’ve got to vote for Joe Biden if they want to make sure that the United States does not fall into the hands of someone who is frankly a sociopath, has been indicted 91 times, and is someone who would take this country backward,” he said.

In Michigan, a key battleground state, a group of progressive voters protested the Democratic primary, claiming that many voters voted “uncommitted” rather than backing the president. Biden is receiving rising criticism from the left for his handling of Israel.

CNN’s Harry Enten warned in March that Kennedy was “polling north of 15% nationally.” Enten provided historical context by comparing Kennedy’s popularity to that of renowned independent candidate Ross Perot, who received over 20% of the vote in the 1992 presidential election and about 10% in the 1996 election.

Polls have revealed that Kennedy and other third-party candidates are harming both Trump and Biden, although a March poll found that Trump is 41% ahead of Biden among registered Michigan voters. Biden received 36% of the vote, followed by Democrat-turned-independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (10%), Green Party candidate Jill Stein (4%), and progressive independent Cornel West (3%).