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Here are tidbits, observations and laments from Tuesdays primary elections.

Be careful what you pay for. Ken Griffin, the billionaire investment titan, fronted $50 million to back Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin in the Republican gubernatorial primary, hoping Irvin could smash Griffins nemesis and fellow billionaire, Gov. J.B. Pritzker, in the fall elections.

Pritzker and his allies preferred another opponent and poured tens of millions of dollars into a campaign that excoriated Irvin and propped up his chief competitor, Illinois state Sen. Darren Bailey.

The Democrats were meddling, Republicans howled.

The meddling worked. Bailey captured the GOP nomination with 57.5% of Tuesdays primary vote, the Tribune reported. That sets up a Bailey-Pritzker matchup for the fall.

David vs. Goliath, Chicago versus Downstate, the farmer vs. the billionaire.

Some give Pritzker high odds in the Nov. 8 general election. Yep, and Irvin was supposed to be a shoo-in for the GOP gubernatorial nomination.

Bailey, the farmer from Xenia, will be a fierce opponent. He ran an astute grassroots campaign with an ample and wily social media presence.

Dont let Baileys folksy aw, shucks ways fool you. He shined on primary night, showing he can be as effective speechifying at the podium as commanding a tractor.

Republican gubernatorial nominee Darren Bailey celebrates with supporters on primary election night June 28, 2022, in Effingham. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)

Pritzker may be riding high on his slam-dunk Democratic renomination. So high, in fact, that he is putting out feelers for a 2024 presidential run.

The governor recently flew to New Hampshire to appear at a Democratic Party convention and campaign for some of the states top Democrats.

His name keeps springing up for 2024, though his people say he is focused on his own reelection. Sure.

Be careful what you ask for, J.B. High ambition can equal dangerous hubris. Get reelected first.

Griffin was a sore loser even before he lost. Illinois richest man announced he was abandoning Illinois, Irvin and the rest of his statewide slate less than a week before his candidates bit the electoral dust.

The petulant Griffin is going to gator-land, moving his family and his many employees from Illinois to Miami. There he will avidly support Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis reelection bid. DeSantis must be salivating at the prospect of Griffins largesse as he plots his own presidential run.

DeSantis should beware of his fickle benefactor. Irvin can clue you in. Griffin will own you. One false move from you, and the bucks might dry up at exactly the wrong time.

Jonathan Jackson prevailed over 16 other candidates in the Democratic race for the 1st Congressional District, winning 28.2% of the vote.

The district enjoys a vaunted history. Famous African American men have held that seat since 1928, including Oscar Stanton De Priest, the first African American elected to Congress in the 20th century; the Olympian Ralph Metcalfe; Harold Washington, Chicagos first Black mayor; and the current occupant, U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush, the former Black Panther radical and Chicago alderman. Rush is retiring after 30 years in office.

The district spans Chicagos South Side to the southern suburbs and exurbs and is staunchly Democratic, making Jackson a near-certain winner in November.

The South Side businessman got a big lift from his marquee family name. He is the son of the Rev. Jesse Jackson, the civil rights icon, and brother of former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., who was convicted of federal fraud charges in 2013.

Family names are golden in politics. Even tarnished ones can pay off in Chicago. Just ask the Daleys, Madigans, Burkes and Cullertons.

Jonathan Jackson will take the congressional seat under a cloud. Critics blasted him for accepting money from political action committees with links to cryptocurrency interests. More than $1 million in those donations helped fuel his TV radio and billboard ads.

Even before the votes have been counted, Jackson has already put up a for sale sign, said a fellow 1st District candidate, 3rd Ward Ald. Pat Dowell.

Dowell and the other women in that race should have found a smoke-filled room and cut a deal to get behind one of their own.

Bobby Bigfoot Rush heartily endorsed and campaigned for one of them, Karin Norington-Reaves, former CEO of the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership. Reaves came in third with about 14% of the vote.

The runup to the U.S. Supreme Courts decision to overturn Roe v. Wade triggered an avalanche of assurances that the news would gin up voter engagement and turnout.

Not.

About 20% of registered voters turned out in Chicago and Cook County, according to election officials.

Hope springs eternal. Theres always another election around the bend. The Nov. 8 midterm election is up next, then Chicagos citywide races on Feb. 28.

Seven elected city officials sought higher office on Tuesday. One prevailed.

Six Chicago aldermen tried to move up, but only one succeeded: 12th Ward Ald. George Cardenas of the Southwest Side, who won a seat on the Cook County Board of Review.

Dowell and Ald. Gilbert Villegas lost their campaigns for the 1st and 3rd Congressional District seats, respectively. South Side Ald. Howard Brookins and Ald. Chris Taliaferro of the West Side lost contests for judicial seats.

Meanwhile, South Side Ald. David Moore and Chicago City Clerk Anna Valencia came up short in their bids for Illinois secretary of state, losing to former Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias.

As they lick their wounds, dont be surprised to see some eyeing another bid for the fifth floor of City Hall.

Hello, Mayor Lori Lightfoot!

Laura Washington is a political commentator and longtime Chicago journalist. Her columns appear in the Tribune each Monday. Write to her at LauraLauraWashington@gmail.com.

Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.

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Laura Washington: Democrats and J.B. Pritzker should be careful of buyers' remorse - Chicago Tribune