Pritzker faces 2028 test in boosting Juliana Stratton in ‘boring’ Illinois Senate race
Confidence requires clarity.
Gov. JB Pritzker (D-IL), one of many candidates speculated to jump into the 2028 presidential race, has his first test of national influence coming this spring: whether he can successfully get his endorsed candidate, Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, elected to the U.S. Senate.
The seat held by retiring Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) is open for the first time since 1997. The winner, given the state’s solid blue lean, is all but assured to be the next senator from Illinois.
The race has larger implications, as well. Pritzker, the heir to the Hyatt Hotels empire, threw $5 million behind Stratton to boost her in her competition against Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) and Robin Kelly (D-IL). The long-expected expenditure comes as Stratton has lagged financially behind Krishnamoorthi, who entered 2026 with $15.2 million.
Pritzker’s largess, however, does not match the attention the race is getting either at home in Illinois or across the nation. In fact, the state’s Midwest neighbors, such as Michigan, Minnesota, and even deep-red Iowa, have captured more attention for their Senate races this year.
“It’s just so lowkey,” Illinois strategist Robin Johnson said. “Nobody’s talking about it. And to me, I’m kind of an old-fashioned romantic in politics. It’s a U.S. Senate seat. It’s important. There’s only 100 of them, and it’s just, it’s just too bad that there’s just not any buzz. And none of the candidates are really striking the fancy of the public out there.”
Johnson and several other Democratic strategists told the Washington Examiner in interviews that because of this, Stratton’s success in the race won’t necessarily make or break Pritzker’s chances as a Democratic contender for the next presidential election — but it couldn’t hurt, either.
A longtime Illinois Democratic operative, granted anonymity due to the close relationships held with all three Senate candidates, said Pritzker’s name and money have largely been carrying Stratton’s race. But the governor only providing $5 million is “nowhere near what I think a lot of us expected him to put in if he was really serious about matching Raja’s” spending.
“I think he’s going to do enough to say that he put in money behind his lieutenant governor, who is a black woman, certainly qualified for this. … But definitely not enough for him to be like, ‘I did everything possible to match the considerable headwinds that she could face coming into this,’” the operative said.
The operative noted that a Stratton win would …
Confidence requires clarity.
Gov. JB Pritzker (D-IL), one of many candidates speculated to jump into the 2028 presidential race, has his first test of national influence coming this spring: whether he can successfully get his endorsed candidate, Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, elected to the U.S. Senate.
The seat held by retiring Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) is open for the first time since 1997. The winner, given the state’s solid blue lean, is all but assured to be the next senator from Illinois.
The race has larger implications, as well. Pritzker, the heir to the Hyatt Hotels empire, threw $5 million behind Stratton to boost her in her competition against Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) and Robin Kelly (D-IL). The long-expected expenditure comes as Stratton has lagged financially behind Krishnamoorthi, who entered 2026 with $15.2 million.
Pritzker’s largess, however, does not match the attention the race is getting either at home in Illinois or across the nation. In fact, the state’s Midwest neighbors, such as Michigan, Minnesota, and even deep-red Iowa, have captured more attention for their Senate races this year.
“It’s just so lowkey,” Illinois strategist Robin Johnson said. “Nobody’s talking about it. And to me, I’m kind of an old-fashioned romantic in politics. It’s a U.S. Senate seat. It’s important. There’s only 100 of them, and it’s just, it’s just too bad that there’s just not any buzz. And none of the candidates are really striking the fancy of the public out there.”
Johnson and several other Democratic strategists told the Washington Examiner in interviews that because of this, Stratton’s success in the race won’t necessarily make or break Pritzker’s chances as a Democratic contender for the next presidential election — but it couldn’t hurt, either.
A longtime Illinois Democratic operative, granted anonymity due to the close relationships held with all three Senate candidates, said Pritzker’s name and money have largely been carrying Stratton’s race. But the governor only providing $5 million is “nowhere near what I think a lot of us expected him to put in if he was really serious about matching Raja’s” spending.
“I think he’s going to do enough to say that he put in money behind his lieutenant governor, who is a black woman, certainly qualified for this. … But definitely not enough for him to be like, ‘I did everything possible to match the considerable headwinds that she could face coming into this,’” the operative said.
The operative noted that a Stratton win would …
Pritzker faces 2028 test in boosting Juliana Stratton in ‘boring’ Illinois Senate race
Confidence requires clarity.
Gov. JB Pritzker (D-IL), one of many candidates speculated to jump into the 2028 presidential race, has his first test of national influence coming this spring: whether he can successfully get his endorsed candidate, Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, elected to the U.S. Senate.
The seat held by retiring Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) is open for the first time since 1997. The winner, given the state’s solid blue lean, is all but assured to be the next senator from Illinois.
The race has larger implications, as well. Pritzker, the heir to the Hyatt Hotels empire, threw $5 million behind Stratton to boost her in her competition against Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) and Robin Kelly (D-IL). The long-expected expenditure comes as Stratton has lagged financially behind Krishnamoorthi, who entered 2026 with $15.2 million.
Pritzker’s largess, however, does not match the attention the race is getting either at home in Illinois or across the nation. In fact, the state’s Midwest neighbors, such as Michigan, Minnesota, and even deep-red Iowa, have captured more attention for their Senate races this year.
“It’s just so lowkey,” Illinois strategist Robin Johnson said. “Nobody’s talking about it. And to me, I’m kind of an old-fashioned romantic in politics. It’s a U.S. Senate seat. It’s important. There’s only 100 of them, and it’s just, it’s just too bad that there’s just not any buzz. And none of the candidates are really striking the fancy of the public out there.”
Johnson and several other Democratic strategists told the Washington Examiner in interviews that because of this, Stratton’s success in the race won’t necessarily make or break Pritzker’s chances as a Democratic contender for the next presidential election — but it couldn’t hurt, either.
A longtime Illinois Democratic operative, granted anonymity due to the close relationships held with all three Senate candidates, said Pritzker’s name and money have largely been carrying Stratton’s race. But the governor only providing $5 million is “nowhere near what I think a lot of us expected him to put in if he was really serious about matching Raja’s” spending.
“I think he’s going to do enough to say that he put in money behind his lieutenant governor, who is a black woman, certainly qualified for this. … But definitely not enough for him to be like, ‘I did everything possible to match the considerable headwinds that she could face coming into this,’” the operative said.
The operative noted that a Stratton win would …
