Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton wins Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate : NPR
Among the large field of Democratic primary candidates, Juliana Stratton said she would strongly oppose the Trump administration and would not vote for any of its candidates, if elected.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Illinois Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton is now the Democratic nominee for a seat in the U.S. Senate. That’s according to an Associated Press race call. Stratton called for progressive policies to counter President Trump’s administration.
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JULIANA STRATTON: We will fight for Medicare for All.
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STRATTON: We will fight to abolish ICE.
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STRATTON: We will fight for a real living wage, not just the bare minimum.
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MARTIN: WBEZ’s Mariah Woelfel is up early after a long night at the Stratton watch party, and she’s with us now. Thank you very much for getting up early.
MARIAH WOELFEL, BYLINE: No problem. Good morning.
MARTIN: Hello. So tell us about Stratton.
WOELFEL: Yeah. So Stratton has been the state’s lieutenant governor for about eight years, alongside Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, who is a billionaire and has supported his campaign significantly in this race. If elected, she will be the state’s fourth Black senator. She would replace outgoing Senator Dick Durbin. Stratton was, without question, the progressive front-runner in this race. As you heard in her victory speech, she campaigned on Medicare for All and the abolition of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. These policies somewhat differentiated her from Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, who had slightly more moderate views on these positions. His campaign has spent $25 million on broadcast ads since July, but Stratton beat him and also beat longtime congresswoman Robin Kelly in that race. She will face Republican candidate Don Tracy in the fall.
MARTIN: Okay. So, Illinois hasn’t had a Republican senator in almost 20 years, so it would appear that Stratton is the favorite to win the general. But have we learned anything about what Democrats are looking for in their candidates after last night’s results?
WOELFEL: Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. And this primary race has been somewhat of a competition over who would play the hardest with Trump. Stratton has taken the hardest line on this, saying she would not vote for any of Trump’s appointees if elected. She won’t support Chuck Schumer as Senate minority leader because she says he’s been too lukewarm. She’s been the most outspoken in favor of abolishing ICE, whereas, you know, Kelly has kind of called it a catchy slogan that most members of Congress don’t support. These candidates also built their campaigns on affordability, with Stratton also championing the most progressive policies on this issue. And another major theme was: who do you get your money from?
MARTIN: Okay. Well, let’s hear more. I mean, you and your colleagues reported that political action committees spent about $50 million on the Senate race and four House races in the Chicago area. Is this unusual?
WOELFEL: The amount of spending is much higher than the last time the Chicago area had a U.S. House primary election without an incumbent, in 2022 – that was 2022. And this year we had several. However, in those House races, about two-thirds of all the super PAC’s outside money came from groups linked to AIPAC, the U.S.-Israel Public Affairs Committee. AIPAC has worked through little-known and newly formed PACs with names like Elect Chicago Women that have funded ads that make no mention of the Middle East and benefit some candidates who do not support tougher conditions on U.S. military aid to Israel.
Veteran political consultant David Axelrod, with whom I spoke, believes the secrecy is because AIPAC has made the calculation that attaching its name to a candidate is simply not politically beneficial at a time when Democratic voters are increasingly unsettled by the war in Gaza and by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — Israel’s prime minister — whom AIPAC supports. In House races, AIPAC’s results have been mixed. Two out of four candidates with AIPAC-related support lost their campaigns. AIPAC said in a statement that Illinois voters rejected, quote, “a half-dozen anti-Israel candidates.”
MARTIN: This is Mariah Woelfel from WBEZ. Mariah, thank you very much. Take a nap today.
WOELFEL: Thank you. I’ll try.
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