CHICAGO (AP) — The idea of running for governor with no political experience or organization would once have been almost unthinkable. But a handful of candidates from the business world are planning to do so next year, gambling that voters who are weary of traditional candidates will give them a chance.
Most prominent is Bruce Rauner, a millionaire private equity executive who plans to run for governor of Illinois. The past three Republican nominees for governor lost to Democrats in the Democratic-leaning state. But Rauner believes that being a businessman, rather than a politician, will help him break the trend.
Businessmen are also planning to run for governor in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Minnesota. With most states now controlled by one party, traditional candidates from the opposition often have little chance of getting elected.
