Illinois Lt. Gov Juliana Stratton wins Democratic primary for U.S. Senate
CHICAGO — Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton won the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate on Tuesday, edging out two sitting members of the House of Representatives to advance to the November general election against Republican candidate Don Tracy, a former state party chairman.
The retirement of U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, the Senate’s second-ranking longtime Democrat, sparked a competitive campaign on the Democratic side, attracting as candidates Stratton and U.S. Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi and Robin Kelly, among others. Furious fundraising and sharp elbows marked the race, which tested the influence of Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker. The governor, whose name has been announced as a 2028 presidential candidate, has endorsed Stratton.
From questions about the cryptocurrency and AI industries to fighting immigration to fracturing U.S. support for Israel, voters in the state have been grappling with issues like the infusion of millions of dollars of super PACS into hotly contested races.
A series of retirements in the House has led to seats opening up with crowded contests in the Chicago area, where the U.S.-Israel Public Affairs Committee and PACs supporting the cryptocurrency and AI industries have spent big money on several contests. Most of the primary winners in the Democratic stronghold are expected to prevail in November, shaping a new generation of leaders in the state’s congressional delegation.
Democratic congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh…
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Three top Democrats are running to replace Durbin
Stratton was one of ten Democrats and six Republicans running.
Krishnamoorthi dominated fundraising and the airwaves and was the first to run commercials on television in July. He began 2026 with more than $15 million on hand after spending more than $6 million and raising more than $3.5 million in the final three months of last year, campaign finance records show.
For comparison, Stratton started the year with $1 million after raising roughly the same amount and spending just under $1 million in the final three months of 2025. But last month, Pritzker invested $5 million in a super PAC intended largely to help him get elected.
She campaigned with Pritzker’s support and spotlighted Krishnamoorthi during debates, particularly on the Democrat’s five-term voting record and donations from a contractor linked to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“This is not an example of someone who is going to stand up to Donald Trump and fight for all of our communities,” Stratton said during a January debate. “I want to abolish ICE.”
Krishnamoorthi, who has called for dismantling the agency, said he donated the money to immigrant rights groups. He argued that Stratton focused on him because she “had no political ideas. She had to attack.”
Meanwhile, Kelly disputed Pritzker’s involvement, arguing that a sitting governor should not intervene.
Rochelle Brockenborough, 64, said she voted for Stratton at the Dr. Martin Luther King Community Services Center in Chicago.
“I wanted to make sure there was no AIPAC money. That’s important to me,” she said, adding that American taxpayer money should not be used to support Israel.
Candidates touted their ties to iconic Chicagoans, including President Barack Obama and the late Rev. Jesse Jackson, who died last month. However, a touted posthumous endorsement by Stratton caused a problem as Jackson’s family withdrew it on Monday, saying the project was not intended to be made public.
Tracy, an attorney who led the Illinois Republican Party from 2021 to 2024, beat five other candidates in the GOP primary. The state was without a Republican in the Senate a decade ago, when Mark Kirk was defeated by current Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth.
Election officials were hoping to see busy polls after statewide turnout in the 2024 primaries was 19%, the lowest in more than five decades.
Among the issues reported Tuesday were complaints that Madison County election workers asked voters to show identification, drawing the attention of the local elections office and the state attorney general. Southern Illinois county officials said the problem in one district has been resolved. Showing identification at a polling place is not required in Illinois.
Crowded primaries in the United States House of Representatives
Dozens of candidates ran for five vacant seats in the Chicago area, where funding from groups supporting Israel and the cryptocurrency industry has played an outsized role.
In Kelly’s 2nd District, which spans part of the South Side and suburbs and extends into the farmlands of central Illinois, Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller emerged victorious from a crowded Democratic field that included former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., son of the late civil rights leader, and Sen. Robert Peters. Miller will face Republican Michael Noack in November, who has faced no opposition.
Miller was supported by AIPAC, and that support prompted retired U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky of the 9th District to withdraw her support for Miller.
The vacant seat in suburban Krishnamoorthi’s 8th District attracted eight Democratic and four Republican candidates. Former U.S. Rep. Melissa Bean won the Democratic nomination.
Two other House members are retiring after long careers.
The 7th District of Rep. Danny Davis, first elected in 1996, covers part of downtown, the West Side and the suburbs. Thirteen Democrats were running, including leading state Rep. La Shawn Ford and Chicago City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin.
Conyears-Ervin conceded to Ford on Tuesday night, although the Associated Press has not declared a winner. Chad Koppie won for the GOP.
The main field for Schakowsky’s 9th District headquarters was the busiest. Among the 15 Democratic candidates were Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss, digital creator Kat Abughazaleh and state Sen. Laura Fine. Four Republicans were in the running.
Another open Chicago-area seat was for Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, who announced he would not seek re-election due to health and personal reasons. The Democratic primary was uncontested after Garcia quietly planned to place his chief of staff, Patty Garcia, on the ballot without any Democratic competition.
Patty Garcia, who is not related to the congressman, will face Republican Lupe Castillo, who also ran unopposed, in November.
Pritzker is seeking a third term as governor
Pritzker, heir to the Hyatt hotel fortune and unopposed in his primary, is the first governor to seek a third term since the 1980s.
One of President Donald Trump’s most vocal critics, Pritzker used his victory speech to tout his efforts to oppose Chicago’s aggressive federal immigration crackdown last year. He criticized the Republicans’ agenda, called Trump’s presidency a “total disaster” and pledged to help Illinois Democrats achieve victory in November.
“This is the fight of our lives,” he told supporters at a downtown Chicago hotel. “Everything we hold dear is under siege from Washington. »
Pritzker also took a dig at Republican candidate Darren Bailey, a former state senator whom he defeated handily in 2022.
Bailey, among four Republicans vying for the nomination, said he now does things differently. On the one hand, he focused more on Chicago voters by choosing his running mate Aaron Del Mar, who leads the Republican Party in Cook County.
Bailey criticized Pritzker’s leadership, including blaming him for rising costs, saying, “He’s just another billionaire who has never once felt the pain he’s inflicted on him.” »
Ted Dabrowski, a real estate developer, was also in the Republican primary; Rick Heidner, a video game mogul; and DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick.
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Associated Press journalists Mike Householder in Chicago and Hannah Fingerhut in Des Moines, Iowa, contributed.
