Tuesday’s primary elections in Illinois were a test of how far big money can go in Democratic elections while also underscoring the political clout of Gov. JB Pritzker.
In the closely watched Democratic primary to fill the seat of retiring Sen. Richard J. Durbin, Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton defeated Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi and Robin Kelly. Stratton — who has said that, if elected, she would not support Charles E. Schumer as Senate Democratic leader — sought to tap into voters’ anger with Washington and the Trump administration.
“Right now, to meet this moment, it requires a different level of energy. It requires people who are going to go toe-to-toe with Donald Trump,” she said in an interview earlier this month.
Stratton now appears on track to become the sixth Black woman to serve in the Senate, joining current Sens. Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland and Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware.
The Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association, which backed Stratton, worked with the pro-Stratton group Illinois Future PAC on a direct mail program that it said highlighted her record and reached more than 80,000 households.
“Last night’s victory is the first of many for the DLGA as we work to elect our Democratic Lt. Governors to higher office in 2026,” Kevin Holst, the group’s executive director, said in a statement. “Even after being massively outspent, Lt. Gov. Stratton’s authenticity and strong leadership earned the trust of voters across Illinois, and built the momentum needed to win.”
In the 8th District, former Rep. Melissa Bean won the Democratic nomination for the seat vacated by Krishnamoorthi. She appears poised to return to the House representing a bluer version of the seat she held for three terms more than a decade ago.
Former Rep. Jesse L. Jackson Jr., who was also seeking a comeback, was not successful, losing to Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller in the 2nd District race to succeed Kelly.
Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss emerged from a 15-candidate field to win the Democratic nomination in the 9th District, while state Rep. La Shawn K. Ford won the nomination for the open 7th District.
The Illinois races attracted millions of dollars in spending by outside groups seeking to support their preferred candidates. Democrats will be favored in all five elections in November.
Here are our takeaways from Tuesday night:
Mixed results for big spenders
Interest groups spent heavily across the five open-seat races in Illinois, none of which are expected to be competitive in November.
After the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s involvement in a New Jersey special election earlier this year appeared to backfire on the pro-Israel group, its attention shifted to Illinois, where its engagement became a major focal point. But AIPAC’s super PAC, the United Democracy Project, invested in only one of the four open House races, while in other races it reportedly invested through related outfits.
The group Affordable Chicago Now! supported Miller’s winning bid in the 2nd District, while a separate group, Elect Chicago Women, poured millions into supporting Bean. AIPAC-affiliated groups also supported state Sen. Laura Fine, who placed third in the 9th District, and Chicago City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin, who finished second in the 7th. Still, AIPAC cast its night as a success, saying it denied victories for candidates it opposed.
“Illinois voters rejected half a dozen anti-Israel candidates across several heavily Democratic open-seat races,” the group said in a statement. “These results further demonstrate that campaigns defined largely by opposition to AIPAC, our members, and the values we represent continue to fall short on election night.”
Biss, who is Jewish and was a target of AIPAC spending until the group pivoted to attacking two other 9th District candidates in the campaigns’ final days, said his win showed that voters can balance competing points of view on Israel and Palestine.
“This district understands nuance and wants someone who accepts the reality of competing, even contradictory-sounding, priorities and values and realities,” Biss said Tuesday night.
Similarly, groups tied to the cryptocurrency industry and a pro-AI group also saw mixed results.
The crypto-linked Fairshake and Protect Progress spent a combined $10 million opposing Stratton, seemingly to boost Krishnamoorthi. Fairshake also spent $2.5 million opposing Ford in the 7th District.
But those groups also saw some success. In the 8th District, Protect Progress supported Bean, while Fairshake spent $817,000 in the 2nd District opposing state Sen. Robert Peters, who was endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders. Peters ended up finishing a distant third.
Meanwhile, Think Big, a super PAC affiliated with the pro-AI group Leading The Future, unsuccessfully sought to boost Jackson while also investing $1.1 million to support Bean.
Disappointing night for many progressives
Some of that spending may have contributed to an overall disappointing night for Democrats’ progressive wing, which saw most of its candidates fall short after the big win in New Jersey earlier this year.
Candidates endorsed by Justice Democrats, tech entrepreneur Junaid Ahmed in the 8th District and social media influencer Kat Abughazaleh in the 9th, both lost their races. Ahmed had the backing of Sanders and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
“Tonight we lost, but the corporate establishment has to pull out every stop to even have a chance of winning races this cycle — and that’s a signal of our movement’s power and we have a lot of fights left in us,” Justice Democrats said on social media, in reference to Ahmed’s loss.
Still, it wasn’t an entirely bleak night for Illinois progressives. The Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC endorsed Biss, spending $546,000 supporting him. Biss ran as a progressive, though Abughazleh ran to the left of him. But the group’s endorsees in the other three open House races all fell short on Tuesday night: Ahmed in the 8th District, Peters in the 2nd and labor organizer Anthony Driver Jr. in the 7th.
Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who campaigned in Illinois last week, was more successful with her endorsements, supporting Stratton and Biss.
Local endorsements matter
Pritzker, a prospective 2028 presidential contender, went all out to support Stratton, helping to fund a super PAC that spent at least $12.2 million on her behalf to compete with the Krishnamoorthi campaign’s nearly $29 million spent on ads since last summer.
“A lot of people have suggested that this was personal to me,” Pritzker said at Stratton’s victory party in Chicago, according to Politico. “They were right. It was.”
Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth also backed Stratton, as well as Bean.
Retiring Reps. Jan Schakowsky and Danny K. Davis saw their endorsed successors win crowded primaries, with Biss and Ford emerging as the respective winners of their House races.
