Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton has been projected the winner of the Democratic Senate primary in Illinois, NBC News reports, prevailing over U.S. Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi and Robin Kelly in the contest to replace retiring Sen. Dick Durbin. With roughly 80% of expected votes tallied, Stratton carried Cook County — including Chicago by a wide margin — and was essentially tied in the suburbs, holding about 40% to Krishnamoorthi’s 29% and Kelly’s 23%.
A South Side native, Stratton told supporters voters are ‘fed up’ with Washington and want someone who will check President Donald Trump. If she wins the general election, she would be the sixth Black woman to serve in the Senate and would create the first occasion when three Black women serve there at the same time.
Stratton ran despite being heavily outspent on ads. Krishnamoorthi spent about $29 million, while Kelly and Stratton each reported roughly $1.4 million and $1.1 million, respectively, on advertisements. Gov. J.B. Pritzker endorsed Stratton and helped bankroll Illinois Future PAC, which spent about $14.9 million on ads backing her and attacking Krishnamoorthi. Her campaign also faced nearly $10 million in outside attacks from Fairshake, a group funded by cryptocurrency executives; a Fairshake spokesperson declined to comment. Pritzker signed state crypto regulations last year, and Stratton has earned the endorsement of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a proponent of stronger crypto oversight.
Stratton ran to the left of her opponents, embracing progressive priorities such as Medicare for All, a $25 minimum wage and abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The three candidates differed on how to handle ICE: Krishnamoorthi called to ‘abolish Trump’s ICE,’ while Kelly urged dismantling the Department of Homeland Security. Stratton dismissed worries that proposals like abolishing ICE could be politically weaponized, saying the federal government itself has been used against citizens.
She has also said she would not back Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to continue leading the Democratic caucus, arguing voters want fighters rather than ‘folders.’
Stratton is the favorite heading into the November general election in heavily Democratic Illinois. NBC projects she will face former Illinois Republican Party chairman Don Tracy, who won the Republican primary, and she enters the fall race in a state that former Vice President Kamala Harris carried by 11 points in 2024.