(, The Center Square) Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker launched Think Big America, a nonprofit focused on expanding access to abortion in states across the country. It’s part of his broader mission of “combating far-right extremism.”
Think Big invested millions of dollars advocating for abortion ballot initiatives in eight states. Of the eight states, South Dakota, Nebraska and Florida rejected the initiatives this election cycle.
“People felt like their reproductive rights were under attack and so there were a lot of people who showed up to vote around that issue and I am proud to say the organization I founded, Think Big America, we won the vast majority of the referenda across the country that protected women’s reproductive rights,” Pritzker said.
Millions were spent on Arizona’s, Florida’s and Nevada’s ballot initiatives. Thousands were spent on Montana’s, Maryland’s, South Dakota’s, Nebraska’s and Missouri’s abortion initiatives.
Illinois Family Institute Executive Director David Smith said the pro-abortion movement is not an organic movement of ordinary women.
“It’s not organic, it doesn’t come from the grassroots. It’s all hyped up by fear-mongers who claim they [state governments] are going to take this right away from women, when that is not the truth,” said Smith.
Smith said the flurry of referendums started in 2023 when Ohio passed its abortion referendum. George Soros, through a slew of dark money nonprofits, poured at least $16 million into getting the Ohio referendum passed.
For Tuesday’s election, 11 statewide ballot measures related to abortion were certified in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New York, Nevada and South Dakota.
Smith said the spike in ballot measures isn’t due to women seeking to secure their “civil rights,” but instead it’s because a rich man wants to shore up left-wing voters prior to a 2028 Democratic primary.
“I think that by being involved in all these states and giving liberally he is shoring up his credentials in the eyes of the far left-wing activist, who might be influential in the primaries of early 2028,” said Smith.
Pritzker’s estimated net worth is $3.7 billion. Through his nonprofit, he poured millions into advocating for abortion ballot initiatives across the nation.
“Tens of millions across the country have rights that they didn’t have codified before, rights that are now codified in their constitutions,” said Pritzker.
Pro-life groups say they spent decades pushing for Roe v. Wade to be overturned and that this is not what the Supreme Court had in mind when they returned abortion to the states.
“Missourians made history and sent a clear message to the far-right extremists – abortion bans have no place in their state. We are proud to have supported the movement to protect reproductive rights in the Midwest,” Think Big America said in a recent social media post after the 2024 General election.
