Kennedy: 'Political insiders' shouldn't pick Democrats' nominee for governor

Businessman Chris Kennedy pushed back Monday against unnamed Democratic Party "political insiders" who he said are trying to silence his bid for the governor's office, saying he won't be intimidated by those defending the status quo.

Kennedy made the declaration in a fundraising email before traveling to Springfield for a reception hosted by the Illinois Democratic County Chairmen's Association at a bar near the Capitol. Also in attendance was J.B. Pritzker, the billionaire heir to the Hyatt hotel fortune whom some Democrats view as the best candidate to challenge Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner.

Kennedy began his pitch saying that in 1960, party insiders unsuccessfully tried to push his uncle John F. Kennedy out of the race for president. He then noted the national Democratic divide between establishment contenders and populist progressives.

"The thing about history is, if you don't learn from it, you are doomed to repeat it. If a group of political insiders think that they can bypass the voters and select a nominee, they have learned the wrong lessons from 1960 and from last year's presidential primary too," Kennedy wrote.

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