“As much of anything, it’s based on the fact that I was just elected to the House Democratic leadership,” Rep. Cheri Bustos told POLITICO | Getty Bustos declines run for Illinois governor

Democratic Rep. Cheri Bustos is ruling out a run for governor of Illinois, as her party looks to take on multimillionaire Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner in 2018.

Bustos, a former journalist and three-term member of Congress who represents the northwestern corner of Illinois, would have faced a huge funding challenge, with Rauner already giving his own campaign $50 million for his reelection run and several wealthy Democrats eyeing the race.


Bustos acknowledged the fundraising hurdles but said in an interview Monday that her new leadership position in the House Democratic Caucus was also a key factor in deciding not to run.

“As much of anything, it’s based on the fact that I was just elected to the House Democratic leadership,” she told POLITICO. “I think it’s a big responsibility and I serve as a voice for the folks in the heartland who feel that they’ve been left behind.”

Bustos had been viewed as an attractive statewide candidate. For one, no other woman has filed or has publicly shown serious interest in a gubernatorial run. For another, Bustos had potential to draw Democratic votes from outside the Chicago area, where Republicans tend to be more competitive.

But Illinois Democratic insiders for weeks had doubted Bustos would enter the fray, with much of the momentum behind a big-money candidate who could compete against Rauner or an outsider who could rally progressive energy in the party.

Democrat Chris Kennedy, a wealthy Illinois businessman and nephew to former President John F. Kennedy, jumped in the race earlier this month. Billionaire businessman J.B. Pritzker, brother to former Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, is also considering a bid.

Three candidates have already filed for the Democratic gubernatorial primary, and that is even before billionaire Pritzker makes a final decision. Several Democratic legislators, including state Sens. Daniel Biss, Andy Manar and Kwame Raoul have also shown interest in the office.

However, Rauner in December deposited $50 million into his campaign account, making clear the contest will not only be a brawl, but necessitate large sums of cash to compete.

Bustos is one of three Democrats running the messaging arm for the House Democratic Caucus this Congress, known as the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee. While a lower-rung leadership position, it is viewed by ambitious House Democrats as a launching point for when the current longtime regime, led by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), retires.

Bustos is also the only member in the House Democratic leadership ranks to hail from the Midwest, where Democrats struggled mightily with Rust Belt voters during the election. Protecting Bustos' seat without her could have been a challenge for Democrats next year, after President Donald Trump carried the district in 2016.

“I want to make that as we’re sitting around looking at policy and messaging…that we have an understanding of how we talk with people in the heartland,” Bustos said.

Bustos said she spent Presidents Day making calls to Illinois Democrats letting them know her decision, starting with Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), who ruled out his own bid for the governor’s mansion in the fall. Her second call was to Durbin’s wife, Loretta, a longtime lobbyist in the state.

Bustos said she’s not ready to endorse a candidate in the governor’s race — she expects to weigh in on that in a month or so — but that didn’t stop her from hitting Rauner.

“It is an absolute disaster, I can’t even call it leadership, under his tenure,” she said.

Bustos’ decision not to run comes in the midst of an intense, bitter financial crisis in Illinois. The state has gone nearly two years without an operating budget, as Rauner and the Democratic-controlled Legislature has been locked in partisan fighting.

That has left courts in control of prioritizing payments, leaving many of the state’s social service agencies in financial free-fall. The next governor will not only have to sort that out, but must also contend with the worst funded pension system in the nation and a more than $11 billion bill backlog.