He ran for senate and lost last decade and is up again next cycle. I suspect he appoints someone weak, so he can grab the nomination next time.
The Ricketts family comes from TDAmerica and have ownership of the Chicago Cubs.
I don’t know his leanings.
Trump endorsed Charles Herbster, and Ricketts endorsed Jim Pillen who won the primary.
Now he did issue a statement saying that both Senators, Sasse, & Fischer did the right thing by not finding Trump guilty.
Now his mother:
Marlene Ricketts, The Woman Who Secretly Funds Anti-Trump Organizations, Revealed