Illinois’s Next Black Senator Deserves Credit for Her Own Campaign
Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton was buoyed by millions spent by Governor JB Pritzker, but she won a tough race on her own merit.
Illinois Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton is poised to become the third Black woman sitting senator next year (and only the sixth in history), winning a widely watched primary against two congressional opponents Tuesday night. For most media, the big takeaway is the role of billionaire Governor JB Pritzker, who spent big on behalf of Stratton and campaigned for her across the state. Pritzker’s role is being seen as another marker on his road to a run for the Democratic Presidential nomination in 2028.
But that has crowded out Stratton’s own accomplishment. More progressive than the governor, Stratton renewed calls to “Abolish ICE” in her victory speech. She also supports a $25 minimum wage, and has said she will not vote to make Chuck Schumer Senate leader when she goes to Washington. Her profile rose as she fought alongside Pritzker during ICE’s “Operation Midway Blitz” last year. The Pritzker focus also obscured what some are calling a victory for the Black community, which pitted against each other two highly qualified Black women—Stratton faced Representative Robin Kelly in the primary—with some observers anguished over the possibility that the two women would split the Black vote and clear a lane for centrist Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, backed by AI and crypto interests.
“Congratulations to Juliana Stratton on her victory. Tuesday reflects what is possible when Black women are supported to lead,” Glynda C. Carr, president and CEO of Higher Heights for America PAC, a group that fights for Black women leaders, said in a statement late Tuesday night. “To see two dynamic Black women competing at this level is not a challenge, it is a sign of progress. It speaks to the growth of a pipeline that is strong, capable, and ready.”
The race was nonetheless occasionally bitter between Stratton and Kelly, with the Congressional Black Caucus firmly behind Kelly. Maryland Senator Angela Alsobrooks was the only Black congressperson to endorse Stratton, though she had the backing of Senators Tammy Duckworth, Elizabeth Warren, and Tina Smith. Duckworth praised Stratton for her work on maternal health and child care, issues around which she said Krishnamoorthi never tried to partner. Minnesota Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan, who looks likely to follow Stratton to the senator next year as the first Native female senator, hailed her victory. “Congratulations to my friend Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton on winning big last night. Outside corporate interests funneled millions into Illinois, but in the end, grassroots people power won. Lieutenant Governor Stratton proves that when the many take on the money, we win,” she wrote in a statement.
Krishnamoorthi raised $30 million to $2.8 million by Stratton (she was buoyed by millions of dollars from Pritzker and allied PACs) and $5 million for Kelly. He was seen as the front-runner, with early TV ads and some polls raising his profile beyond his rivals. But he also spent money to boost Kelly and attack Stratton, a bid to split the Black vote that didn’t go over well. Fairshake, a cryptocurrency-backed group, bashed Stratton with roughly $10 million in ads, understood as revenge for Pritzker’s pledge to regulate crypto in Illinois. Meanwhile, the CBC criticized Pritzker’s going all in for Stratton. “Quite frankly, his behavior in this race won’t soon be forgotten by any of us,” CBC chair Yvette Clarke said in a statement, a seeming nod to his 2028 bid.
Nevertheless, on Wednesday morning, the campaign coverage was all about Pritzker, and most of it was positive.
“Stratton victory boosts Pritzker clout,” read Politico Playbook’s morning headline. Bloomberg went with “Stratton Wins Illinois Senate Primary in Boost to Pritzker.”
“There’s no campaign without [Pritzker],” longtime Democratic operative and Obama ally David Axelrod told the The New York Times. “Juliana is in many ways a political creation of JB Pritzker.” It’s hard to imagine a more dismissive take on Stratton’s talent. She challenged a conservative Democrat for a state house seat in 2016 and won, endorsed by Barack Obama. Pritzker tapped her as his running mate in 2018.
Late in the race, Stratton garnered national attention with an ad that featured supporters, including Tammy Duckworth, declaring “Fuck Trump! Vote for Juliana.”
“They said it, I didn’t,” she says to the camera slyly. Predictably, the Republican National Committee struck back: “Juliana Stratton is a defund-the-police radical who would rather let criminals run rampant than make Chicago safer.” There’s no way to measure the ad’s impact, but with Krishnamoorthi significantly outspending her, Stratton certainly got a lot of local and national earned media. As Democrats nationally debate whether to center Trump in their ads, Stratton made a clear choice—and voters rewarded her for it.
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