Stratton and Tracy vie for Durbin’s Illinois Senate seat

The Illinois race to replace retiring Sen. Dick Durbin pits Democrat Juliana Stratton against Republican Don Tracy, offering voters sharply different approaches to immigration, wages and other national issues. Durbin has held the seat since 1997.

Stratton, Illinois’ lieutenant governor since 2018, is campaigning on raising the federal minimum wage to $25 and abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement. She also backs Medicare coverage for all, stronger gun laws and restoring abortion protections. In a debate last month, she criticized President Donald Trump and said she does not support Chuck Schumer as the Democratic Party’s leader.

A former mediator and state representative, Stratton has highlighted her work on maternal health, criminal justice and food security. She won a contested Democratic primary after Gov. JB Pritzker backed her; a pro-Stratton political action committee funded by Pritzker spent $10 million on the primary campaign. A September poll cited in the reports put her 13 points ahead.

Tracy, a Springfield attorney and businessman, led the state Republican Party from 2021 until resigning in 2024. He says he wants to represent Illinois Republicans and has emphasized affordability, lower drug and insurance prices, reduced government spending, energy costs and border security. He also supports voter ID and stronger enforcement of federal immigration laws.

Tracy has expressed qualified support for Trump’s tariffs, describing them as a tool to address trade practices. He called the Chicago-area Operation Midway Blitz “ugly and chaotic,” while arguing that cooperation between local authorities and federal agents had worked better in Memphis. Republicans have not won a statewide Illinois race in 12 years.

Stratton offers Illinois a progressive alternative in Senate race

Juliana Stratton is making the case for a more progressive Illinois voice in the Senate, with a $25 federal minimum wage, Medicare coverage for all and an end to Immigration and Customs Enforcement among her campaign priorities. Her opponent, Republican Don Tracy, is emphasizing border enforcement and support for voter ID—an opposing vision for the country’s immigration and voting rules.

Stratton also backs stronger gun laws and restoring abortion protections. Her campaign points to her work as lieutenant governor on maternal health, criminal justice and food security, and to her experience representing Illinois in state government. She has said she does not support Chuck Schumer as the Democratic Party’s leader and has made opposition to President Donald Trump central to her message.

Tracy says he wants to speak for Illinois Republicans and has focused on affordability, government spending and energy costs. But his support for tougher immigration enforcement and Trump’s voter ID plan puts him on the other side of the questions Stratton’s campaign is asking voters to decide.

Stratton won a hard-fought Democratic primary with backing from Gov. JB Pritzker, whose pro-Stratton political action committee spent $10 million. A poll in late September projected her 13 points ahead. The election will determine who succeeds Durbin, who has represented Illinois in the Senate since 1997.

Tracy offers Illinois voters a choice on costs and border security

Don Tracy is campaigning on affordability, lower drug and insurance prices, reduced government spending and border security as he seeks to serve Illinois in the U.S. Senate. His Democratic opponent, Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, is pushing a sharply different agenda: a $25 minimum wage and abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement, alongside Medicare coverage for all.

Tracy, a Springfield attorney and former chair of the Illinois Republican Party, says he would not be a rubber stamp for either party. He supports enforcing federal immigration laws and voter ID, and has described Trump’s tariffs as a potential tool to address unfair trade practices. In a debate, he called the Chicago-area Operation Midway Blitz “ugly and chaotic,” but contrasted it with immigration enforcement in Memphis, where he said local cooperation had gone better.

Stratton has made opposition to Trump a prominent part of her campaign and has highlighted her record on maternal health, criminal justice and food security as lieutenant governor. She also backs stronger gun laws and restoring abortion protections. Her primary campaign received backing from Gov. JB Pritzker, whose pro-Stratton political action committee spent $10 million.

The race gives Illinois voters a choice between Stratton’s expansive wage and health-care proposals and Tracy’s focus on spending, costs and enforcement. A late-September poll projected Stratton ahead by 13 points. Republicans have not won a statewide Illinois contest in 12 years; the winner will replace Durbin, who has held the Senate seat since 1997.