Bruce Rauner

Bruce Vincent Rauner (; born February 18, 1956) is an American businessman, venture capitalist, and politician who served as the 42nd governor of Illinois from 2015 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he had a decades-long career in investment management before entering politics, serving as the co-founder and chairman of Chicago-based private equity firm GTCR. As of 2026, Rauner and his lieutenant governor Evelyn Sanguinetti are the most recent Republicans to have won or held statewide office in Illinois. Following his retirement as chairman of GTCR in 2012, Rauner shifted his focus from business to civic and political involvement, leading Chicago's tourism bureau and the Chicago Public Education Fund. He announced his candidacy for governor of Illinois in 2013, winning a crowded Republican primary. In the 2014 election, Rauner narrowly defeated incumbent Democratic governor Pat Quinn, winning every county in the state besides Cook County. Governing as a moderate conservative, Rauner sought to pass right-to-work laws, institute term limits, protect abortion rights, and lower income taxes. However, his agenda was largely stalled by the Democratic supermajorities controlling the Illinois General Assembly. Notably, disagreements between Rauner and Democratic leaders culminated in to a two-year budget crisis. Running for reelection in 2018, he narrowly fended off a primary challenge from conservative State Representative Jeanne Ives. Rauner went on to lose by a large margin to Democratic nominee JB Pritzker.