What to expect in the Illinois Democratic primary to replace Dick Durbin
Are they actually going to vote on something real?
Illinois voters head to the polls Tuesday for the first open Senate race in nearly three decades following Sen. Dick Durbin’s retirement — a Democratic primary overshadowed in its final days by controversy over a claimed endorsement from the late civil rights leader Jesse Jackson.
The retirement of the 81-year-old Durbin, who has held the seat since 1997, has caused a free-for-all among Illinois Democrats. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, and Rep. Robin Kelly are facing off in the most competitive Senate Democratic primary the Land of Lincoln has seen in years.
Recent polling shows the lead seesawing between Krishnamoorthi and Stratton, with a Tulchin Research poll from March 4 through 8 showing Krishnamoorthi with an 11% lead. An FM3 Research survey conducted around the same time found Stratton with a 5% lead.
The victor will likely go on to face former state Republican Party chairman Don Tracy, who has led the GOP field in fundraising. With Illinois a blue stronghold, the winner of the Democratic primary for Senate is all but assured to be the state’s next senator.
Illinois also has competitive contests down ballot for the House of Representatives, thanks to five open seats. Polls close at 8 p.m. EST.
Last-minute endorsements and money dominate Senate race
Democratic circles were shaken on Sunday when Stratton, who is No. 2 to Gov. JB Pritzker (D-IL) and backed by a fist-sized chunk of his Hyatt Hotels fortune, told supporters that the late Rev. Jesse Jackson endorsed her before he died. Stratton said she saw a sample ballot from Rainbow PUSH, a civil rights organization founded by Jackson, that included her among those endorsed on a card with the late civil rights leader’s photo.
“[Rainbow Push Political Director Betty Magnus] kind of came over to me and said, ‘I wanted you to know that Reverend Jackson, we all discussed this before he passed, and these are his endorsements.’ And it was a sheet of about 100 different people, but I was on the list for United States Senate,” Stratton said.
The endorsement is drawing scrutiny for political strategists and members of Jackson’s family, especially given that the Senate races have pitted two African American women — Stratton and Kelly — against each other.
“My father never got in on Black-on-Black fights,” Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D-IL) told Politico Illinois Playbook. “He wouldn’t do that. He was always pushing the community forward. This smells of desperation.”
Yusef Jackson, …
Are they actually going to vote on something real?
Illinois voters head to the polls Tuesday for the first open Senate race in nearly three decades following Sen. Dick Durbin’s retirement — a Democratic primary overshadowed in its final days by controversy over a claimed endorsement from the late civil rights leader Jesse Jackson.
The retirement of the 81-year-old Durbin, who has held the seat since 1997, has caused a free-for-all among Illinois Democrats. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, and Rep. Robin Kelly are facing off in the most competitive Senate Democratic primary the Land of Lincoln has seen in years.
Recent polling shows the lead seesawing between Krishnamoorthi and Stratton, with a Tulchin Research poll from March 4 through 8 showing Krishnamoorthi with an 11% lead. An FM3 Research survey conducted around the same time found Stratton with a 5% lead.
The victor will likely go on to face former state Republican Party chairman Don Tracy, who has led the GOP field in fundraising. With Illinois a blue stronghold, the winner of the Democratic primary for Senate is all but assured to be the state’s next senator.
Illinois also has competitive contests down ballot for the House of Representatives, thanks to five open seats. Polls close at 8 p.m. EST.
Last-minute endorsements and money dominate Senate race
Democratic circles were shaken on Sunday when Stratton, who is No. 2 to Gov. JB Pritzker (D-IL) and backed by a fist-sized chunk of his Hyatt Hotels fortune, told supporters that the late Rev. Jesse Jackson endorsed her before he died. Stratton said she saw a sample ballot from Rainbow PUSH, a civil rights organization founded by Jackson, that included her among those endorsed on a card with the late civil rights leader’s photo.
“[Rainbow Push Political Director Betty Magnus] kind of came over to me and said, ‘I wanted you to know that Reverend Jackson, we all discussed this before he passed, and these are his endorsements.’ And it was a sheet of about 100 different people, but I was on the list for United States Senate,” Stratton said.
The endorsement is drawing scrutiny for political strategists and members of Jackson’s family, especially given that the Senate races have pitted two African American women — Stratton and Kelly — against each other.
“My father never got in on Black-on-Black fights,” Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D-IL) told Politico Illinois Playbook. “He wouldn’t do that. He was always pushing the community forward. This smells of desperation.”
Yusef Jackson, …
What to expect in the Illinois Democratic primary to replace Dick Durbin
Are they actually going to vote on something real?
Illinois voters head to the polls Tuesday for the first open Senate race in nearly three decades following Sen. Dick Durbin’s retirement — a Democratic primary overshadowed in its final days by controversy over a claimed endorsement from the late civil rights leader Jesse Jackson.
The retirement of the 81-year-old Durbin, who has held the seat since 1997, has caused a free-for-all among Illinois Democrats. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, and Rep. Robin Kelly are facing off in the most competitive Senate Democratic primary the Land of Lincoln has seen in years.
Recent polling shows the lead seesawing between Krishnamoorthi and Stratton, with a Tulchin Research poll from March 4 through 8 showing Krishnamoorthi with an 11% lead. An FM3 Research survey conducted around the same time found Stratton with a 5% lead.
The victor will likely go on to face former state Republican Party chairman Don Tracy, who has led the GOP field in fundraising. With Illinois a blue stronghold, the winner of the Democratic primary for Senate is all but assured to be the state’s next senator.
Illinois also has competitive contests down ballot for the House of Representatives, thanks to five open seats. Polls close at 8 p.m. EST.
Last-minute endorsements and money dominate Senate race
Democratic circles were shaken on Sunday when Stratton, who is No. 2 to Gov. JB Pritzker (D-IL) and backed by a fist-sized chunk of his Hyatt Hotels fortune, told supporters that the late Rev. Jesse Jackson endorsed her before he died. Stratton said she saw a sample ballot from Rainbow PUSH, a civil rights organization founded by Jackson, that included her among those endorsed on a card with the late civil rights leader’s photo.
“[Rainbow Push Political Director Betty Magnus] kind of came over to me and said, ‘I wanted you to know that Reverend Jackson, we all discussed this before he passed, and these are his endorsements.’ And it was a sheet of about 100 different people, but I was on the list for United States Senate,” Stratton said.
The endorsement is drawing scrutiny for political strategists and members of Jackson’s family, especially given that the Senate races have pitted two African American women — Stratton and Kelly — against each other.
“My father never got in on Black-on-Black fights,” Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D-IL) told Politico Illinois Playbook. “He wouldn’t do that. He was always pushing the community forward. This smells of desperation.”
Yusef Jackson, …
0 Comments
0 Shares
40 Views
0 Reviews
