SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) — With the 2024 election just under a year away, Illinois’ governor is weighing in on the presidential election with national moves.

Governor J.B. Pritzker traveled to Florida to speak at a news conference in Miami Tuesday promoting Joe Biden. The conference is ahead of the third GOP primary presidential debate Wednesday night.

He spoke highly of the president’s first term.

“The truth is that Joe Biden has done an amazing job for this country. He rescued us from a healthcare crisis,” Pritzker said. “He rescued us from an economic crisis. He has passed bipartisan- let me repeat that- bipartisan legislation that has made a real difference in people’s lives. He’s passed an infrastructure bill that is truly rebuilding this entire nation. So I’m proud to be for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.”

Florida governor Ron DeSantis previously spoke in central Illinois earlier this year at a GOP event in Peoria. At the event, DeSantis touted Florida as a “citadel of freedom” which Pritzker disagrees with.

“Ron DeSantis says Florida is the freest state in the union,” Pritzker fired back Tuesday. “But when Republicans say that, they mean they’re ripping away your voting rights, they’re ripping away a woman’s right to choose. They’re ripping away a child’s right to learn the real truth about black history.”

Republicans in the capitol criticized Pritzker for speaking on other issues and not focusing on the state he was elected in.

“The governor is absent in another state talking about federal issues, issues that are not pertinent to Illinois,” Senate Republican Leader John Curran (R-Downers Grove) said.

Pritzker has been considered as an emergency candidate for president if Biden did not run, citing multiple out-of-state trips for Democratic causes. However, he has fully committed to supporting Biden, and is a national advisor for the Biden campaign.

The Illinois governor also recently launched Think Big America, a political action committee. According to its website, it will “support initiatives that expand rights and make life better for working families” across America.