Illinois Lt. Gov Juliana Stratton wins Democratic primary for US Senate

Stratton victorious

Among 10 Democrats in the race, Stratton lagged in fundraising but had the powerful backing of Pritzker, who put millions into a PAC supporting her election and campaigned with her around the state.

Krishnamoorthi dominated fundraising and was the first on television with ads in July. He started 2026 with over $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, according to campaign finance records.

By comparison, Stratton started the year with $1 million after raising about the same amount and spending just under $1 million in the last three months of 2025.

She lit into Krishnamoorthi at debates, particularly on the five-term Democrat’s voting record and donations from a contractor tied to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“That is not the example of somebody who’s going to stand up to Donald Trump and fight for all of our communities,” Stratton said during a debate in January.

Krishnamoorthi, who has called to dismantle the agency, said he donated the money to immigrant rights groups. In a concession speech Tuesday, he brought up his roots as an immigrant born in India and raised in central Illinois.

“Only in this country can a kid like me serve in the halls of Congress,” he said. “And now we must come together as Democrats and as Americans to make sure that we return to the principles that made us a beacon of freedom and opportunity for the world.”

Rochelle Brockenborough, 64, said she voted for Stratton at the Dr. Martin Luther King Community Service Center in Chicago.

“I wanted to make sure there was no AIPAC money. That’s important to me,” she said, adding that U.S. tax dollars shouldn’t be used to support Israel.

Candidates touted ties to iconic Chicagoans including President Barack Obama and the late Rev. Jesse Jackson, who died last month. However, an endorsement touted posthumously by Stratton caused a snag as Jackson’s family withdrew it Monday, saying the draft was not meant for public release.

In the GOP primary, Tracy, an attorney who led the Illinois Republican Party from 2021 to 2024, bested five other candidates. The state last had a Republican in the Senate a decade ago, when Mark Kirk was defeated by current Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth.

Election officials hoped to see busy polls after statewide turnout in the 2024 primary was 19%, the lowest in more than five decades. Initial turnout estimates in Chicago were around 25%, according to the Chicago Board of Elections.

Crowded US House primaries

Dozens of candidates ran for five open seats in the Chicago area, where funding from groups supporting Israel and the cryptocurrency industry played an outsize role.

In Kelly’s 2nd district, which spans parts of the South Side and suburbs and dips into the central Illinois farmlands, Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller emerged as the winner of a crowded Democratic field that included former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., son of the late civil rights leader, and state Sen. Robert Peters. Miller will face off in November against Republican Michael Noack, who was unopposed.

Miller was backed by AIPAC, and that support prompted retiring U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, of the 9th District, to withdraw her endorsement of Miller.

The open seat in Krishnamoorthi’s suburban 8th District attracted eight Democrats and four Republicans. Former U.S. Rep. Melissa Bean won the Democratic nomination.

“People are ready for change, they want to see a functional Congress,” she told The Associated Press. “We haven’t had one in quite some time.”

Two other House members are retiring after long careers.

The 7th District of Rep. Danny Davis, who was first elected in 1996, covers parts of downtown, the West Side and suburbs. The candidate he endorsed, state Rep. La Shawn Ford won the nomination over a pool that included Chicago City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin. Chad Koppie won for the GOP.

The primary for Schakowsky’s 9th District seat was the most crowded. Among the 15 Democrats, Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss edged out digital creator Kat Abughazaleh and state Sen. Laura Fine. Four Republicans were running.

Speaking to supporters, Biss called Schakowsky, who endorsed him, his “political hero” and said the contest to replace her raised fundamental questions about Democratic Party priorities.

“Are we going to double down on our progressive values, or are we going to shrink away from protecting the most vulnerable?” Biss said. “We are going to stand up, we are going to fight.”

Another open Chicago area seat was that of Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, who announced that he would not seek reelection citing health and personal reasons. The Democratic primary was uncontested after Garcia quietly schemed 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 seeks a third term as governor

Pritzker, an heir to the Hyatt Hotel fortune who was 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 the aggressive federal immigration crackdown in Chicago last year. He criticized Republicans’ agenda, called Trump’s presidency an “unmitigated disaster” and vowing to help Democrats across Illinois win in November.

“This is the fight of our lives,” he told supporters at a downtown Chicago hotel. “Everything we care about is under siege from Washington.”

Pritzker also made digs at Republican candidate Darren Bailey, a former state senator whom he handily defeated in 2022.

Bailey, who bested three other Republicans vying for the nomination, said he was now doing things differently. For one, he focused more on Chicago voters by choosing running mate Aaron Del Mar, who leads the Republican Party in Cook County.

On the campaign trail, 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.”

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Associated Press journalists Mike Householder in Chicago and Hannah Fingerhut in Des Moines, Iowa, contributed.

Sophia Tareen, The Associated Press

by The Canadian Press

Illinois Lt. Gov Juliana Stratton wins Democratic primary for US Senate

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