Cubs co-owner Todd Ricketts expands Trump fundraising role

WASHINGTON — Cubs co-owner Todd Ricketts, the Republican National Committee finance chair, will oversee fundraising for President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign as the two organizations merge their 2020 efforts, the RNC announced Friday.

Ricketts, a Wilmette resident, took over RNC fundraising duties in January 2018. The RNC appointment came after Ricketts withdrew his name to be deputy commerce secretary because it was too complicated to untangle his finances.

Under Trump, the RNC and the Trump bid for a second term will fundraise under a unified joint flag called the Trump Victory Committee.

“I am honored to continue to support President Trump and the Republican Party through the Trump Victory Committee,” Ricketts said in a statement. “As we head toward 2020, I will work to ensure President Trump and his campaign have the resources they need to fight for the American people.”

Ricketts in his RNC role spent this past mid-term election night with Trump at his White House residence and has traveled with Trump on Air Force One for fundraising events.

A major RNC/Trump re-elect donor retreat is scheduled for early March at Trump’s Mar-a-Largo resort in Florida.

Ricketts has been mentioned as a potential candidate in Illinois; brother Pete is the GOP governor of Nebraska, a heavily Republican state. In very Democratic Illinois, Ricketts’ association with Trump’s re-election could be helpful in a GOP primary but not in a general election statewide contest. In any case, with Ricketts taking on 2020 fundraising chores for Trump it looks like Ricketts is not putting himself in play for an elected office anytime soon.