In addition to the three state executives, the Post reports that the group will also include other Dem politicians who, alongside Pritzker and his peers, will coordinate on a bevy of 2024 campaign issues and act as surrogates in the runup to what’s expected to be another raucous national race. 

U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., said of the group: “Our challenge is to get that message out to factory towns, to rural communities and communities of color. We need 20, 30 surrogates from the party going out there in communities, telling stories to communicate this vision.”

While pundits saw Biden’s State of the Union speech as laying the groundwork for his re-election campaign, the president has yet to formally announce it, even as multiple GOP contenders, including former President Donald Trump, have already announced their campaigns or, like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, are building momentum to an expected launch. 

Without a primary to worry about in his own re-election run last summer, Pritzker spent time making the rounds to other states like New Hampshire and Florida speaking to Democratic groups and the media, generating whispers he was considering a 2024 campaign if Biden didn’t run. 

The group of Biden surrogates would also be a key way to energize Democratic voters to support the president’s re-election campaign given multiple polls have shown Dem voters have a desire for someone other than Biden to run for the White House.