JB Pritzker, aka Cococnutbigboy, Is Ready to Be Memed

Let the meme wars begin

WHEN TRIP VENTURELLA SAT DOWN AT his computer in 2022 and jokingly created the Twitter account “Nomadic Warriors for Pritzker,” he didn’t imagine it would amount to much.

A history and theater geek, Venturella thought it would be fun to meme-ify his governor, JB Pritzker, as the Mongol conqueror and empire-builder Genghis Khan. How could it not be hilarious to create janky photoshopped battle maps of Pritzker invading Michigan and Wisconsin, Venturella surmised. So, he registered the handle @Nomads4Pritzker, the bio for which reads: “We are nomadic warriors united by one dream—by the will of Tengri, we will anoint JB Pritzker the Khagan of America.”

Over time, the account came to resemble the best of the political Twitter of old: nerdy, often ridiculous memes meant to amuse more than to offend. Then it became something else entirely: a fountain of content for the pro-Pritzker community. Although the account has a modest 14,400 followers, the memes @Nomads4Pritzker creates find their way all across the internet—popping up in Reddit threads and Discord chats and fueling online discourse about Pritzker.

There’s one of Pritzker in Mongol warrior armor and another one of him sitting on a throne. There are too many to count of Pritzker riding a horse, waving a saber above his head. There’s another one of him with red laser eyes in front of a map of the “United State of Illinois.” And there’s plenty of shit-talking of other Midwest states.

But @Nomads4Pritzker is not the only mildly ironic, somewhat fanboyish pro-Pritzker account out there. Socialists for Pritzker has also amassed a respectable following, with their memes similarly finding their way across the various corners of the internet. And here’s the thing: This weird online culture that has begun to develop around Pritzker is more than just bad photoshops designed to generate a few chuckles and more than a few shares. It could really matter.

BUILDING A ROBUST ONLINE FOLLOWING is more art than science. Though the proper calibration can be painfully elusive, Pritzker and his fans seem to have found one that is working. The Illinois governor is making clear preparations for a potential 2028 presidential bid and these online groups are ready to ride with him.

“I initially created it thinking he’s a pretty genial guy, so it’s absurd to imagine him as Genghis Khan,” Venturella told The Bulwark. “But now, three years later, people are calling him, ‘the Great Khan of Illinois,’ or saying ‘the horse Lord will one day take the Eagle Throne.’ And that’s without me intervening at all. I'll see these posts completely organically.”

“Why has this meme been successful? I think it’s because, despite his genial exterior, he has an instinct for the political jugular and a real understanding of political strategy,” Venturella added. “That is why at least the Nomadic Warriors thing has stuck; it gets to a truth of him.”

Pritzker is not the only potential 2028 Democratic candidate with online stan accounts. Just type in “Pete Buttigieg” to your social media platform of choice and you can find a few.

But Democratic officials, including Pritzker himself, have noticed the cohort of Pritzker posters—some of whom have become friends in real life and trade ideas in group chats. Though the governor’s office is not affiliated with the accounts, Venturella did say he received an unexpected phone call from Pritzker a few months after he created the account. He wouldn’t go into the details, but he told The Bulwark that Pritzker thanked him for the laughs.

The success of these accounts speaks to the outsized role that online influencers and social media accounts play in shaping how people perceive and think about politics and politicians. And if Democrats can agree on any lessons learned from 2024, it’s that whoever emerges as the party’s next leader must be someone who has fluency in the conversation happening online—or at least the capacity to navigate it.

“I think [the accounts] are a sign of the grassroots enthusiasm that exists. Pritzker has them. I’ve seen them for Mayor Pete. I’ve seen them for Stephen A. Smith,” said Democratic strategist Mike Nellis, adding that the accounts become really important closer to elections to help amplify messages or media appearances in remote corners of the internet.

One reason that nurturing an online following matters so much in politics is because of the demands that come with running for office. Candidates can only be in so many places. And they can only woo so many voters. Studies routinely show that one of the best ways to win over those voters is by using trusted surrogates and influencers. But that can be effective only if done in a way that is authentic. Democrats learned that lesson the hard way.