Juliana Stratton Wins Illinois Democratic Senate Primary

On March 17, 2026, Illinois Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton defied the odds — and tens of millions of dollars in opposition spending — to win the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, defeating two sitting members of Congress in a race that became a proxy battle over the future direction of the Democratic Party. The victory positions Stratton to become just the sixth Black woman ever elected to the U.S. Senate, and the second from Illinois, following Carol Moseley Braun's groundbreaking tenure three decades ago [1].

The result was a vindication for Governor JB Pritzker, whose political machine drove Stratton's candidacy, and a stinging rebuke to the crypto industry and outside spending groups that poured record sums into the race. But the Illinois primary's significance extends far beyond any single contest — across four open House seats and the marquee Senate battle, more than $50 million in outside money flooded the state, making it the most expensive primary night of the 2026 cycle and a harbinger of the escalating arms race over Democratic nominations [2].

The Senate Race: David Beats Goliath

With approximately 80% of the vote counted, Stratton led with 39.7%, followed by Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi at 33.4% and Rep. Robin Kelly at 18.5%. The remaining seven candidates in the 10-person field split the balance [3].

The margin belied the financial mismatch. Krishnamoorthi, a four-term congressman from suburban Schaumburg, raised a staggering $30 million — including $20 million transferred from his House campaign war chest — and outspent Stratton on advertising by more than $20 million, according to the tracking firm AdImpact [4]. The crypto industry super PAC Fairshake spent an additional $10 million attacking Stratton, making it one of the most expensive primary interventions by the digital asset lobby to date [5].

Stratton's counter was institutional support rather than dollar-for-dollar spending. Governor Pritzker personally contributed $5 million to Illinois Future PAC, a pro-Stratton super PAC largely run by his close political operatives. His cousin Jennifer Pritzker and her spouse added $1.1 million, and the PAC ultimately spent over $12 million [6]. Senator Tammy Duckworth endorsed Stratton, as did five of Illinois's seventeen House members [4].

Source: NBC News / CoinDesk / American Prospect

Data as of Mar 18, 2026CSV

Pritzker's Gambit — and 2028 Implications

The race was widely understood as a test of Pritzker's political influence beyond the governor's mansion. The billionaire governor, who has openly explored a 2028 presidential bid, staked significant political capital on Stratton — his own lieutenant governor — in a contest where failure would have been deeply embarrassing [6].

The implications are clear: Pritzker now has a potential Senate ally in Washington, a demonstrated ability to kingmake in competitive primaries, and momentum heading into what many expect will be a presidential exploratory effort. Critics, however, note that the Pritzker-Stratton dynamic raises questions about the concentration of political power — a billionaire governor effectively hand-picking his state's senator.

The Money Primary: Crypto, AIPAC, and the Super PAC Maze

Illinois's March 17 primaries were defined by the sheer volume and opacity of outside spending. Across the Senate and four open House races, the state became a battleground for three distinct outside spending forces: the crypto lobby, the pro-Israel lobby, and traditional political machines [8].

Crypto PACs: Fairshake and its affiliates spent approximately $13 million across Illinois races, with the bulk — nearly $10 million — directed against Stratton in the Senate primary. Progressive Values Illinois, financed primarily by crypto executive Don Wilson and Thoma Bravo private equity figures, spent additional hundreds of thousands supporting Krishnamoorthi. Despite this massive investment, Stratton's victory represents a significant early setback for the crypto lobby's 2026 strategy [5].

AIPAC: While the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and its affiliated groups stayed out of the Senate race directly, they spent more than $22 million across four Chicago-area House primaries — often through newly formed PACs with generic names like "Elect Chicago Women" and "Chicago Progressive Partnership" that obscured the lobby's involvement [9]. The results were mixed: AIPAC-backed candidates won in the 2nd and 8th Districts (Donna Miller and Melissa Bean, respectively), but their preferred candidate in the most closely watched race — state Senator Laura Fine in the 9th District — lost to Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss, who won with just under 30% in a fragmented field [10].

AI Industry: Artificial intelligence industry groups contributed an additional $2.5 million across the state's primaries, a relatively new entrant in the influence-spending landscape [2].

As Crowdbyte previously reported in its coverage of AIPAC's role in the Illinois congressional primaries, the pro-Israel lobby had spent over $20 million through a network of shadow PACs to shape the four open races, making AIPAC itself a central campaign issue as Democratic support for Israel has fallen to historic lows.

The scale of spending prompted sharp criticism. "AIPAC spent an unbelievable amount of money — over $7 million — to try to buy this seat," Biss declared in his 9th District victory speech [10].

Historic Significance: Black Women in the Senate

If Stratton prevails in November — and in a state where Republicans haven't won statewide since 2014, she is the overwhelming favorite — she will join sitting Senators Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware and Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland as one of three Black women serving simultaneously in the Senate, an unprecedented milestone [1].

The history is stark. In the entire 237-year history of the U.S. Senate, only five Black women have ever served: Carol Moseley Braun (Illinois, 1993–1999), Kamala Harris (California, 2017–2021), Laphonza Butler (California, 2023–2024), Blunt Rochester (Delaware, 2025–present), and Alsobrooks (Maryland, 2025–present) [11]. Stratton would be the sixth — and the second from Illinois, three decades after Moseley Braun broke the barrier.

The Illinois primary itself featured two Black women among the top three candidates, with Rep. Robin Kelly of Lynwood finishing third. The contest underscored both the progress and the persistent underrepresentation of Black women in the upper chamber of Congress [11].

Campaign Issues: ICE, Immigration, and the Trump Administration

The primary played out against the backdrop of the Trump administration's escalating immigration enforcement and the ongoing U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran — both of which shaped the candidates' messaging [7].

Stratton staked out the most aggressive position on immigration among the three leading candidates, calling for the outright abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "I wanna abolish ICE because I don't believe that this agency can be reformed," she said during a candidate forum, advocating for immigration judges and community-based social services as alternatives [7]. Krishnamoorthi drew a finer distinction, calling for "abolishing Trump's ICE" while acknowledging that immigration enforcement would continue in some form. Kelly positioned herself between the two.

All three candidates pledged to oppose the Trump administration, but Stratton's willingness to take the sharpest positions — including a viral campaign ad featuring the phrase "F*ck Trump" — appeared to resonate with Democratic primary voters hungry for confrontation [12].

The Iran war, now in its third week, added urgency to foreign policy discussions, particularly given AIPAC's heavy involvement in the state's House races. With the ongoing conflict driving oil prices past $100 a barrel and contributing to broader economic anxiety, voters were primed to scrutinize candidates' positions on Middle East policy and the influence of the pro-Israel lobby.

Source: GDELT Project

Data as of Mar 18, 2026CSV

The House Races: A Mixed Verdict

The four open House seats produced results that defied easy categorization for any ideological faction [10]:

9th District: Daniel Biss, the Evanston mayor and former state senator, won with under 30% in a crowded field, defeating both AIPAC-backed Laura Fine and progressive favorite Kat Abughazaleh, who was endorsed by Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib. The result was a loss for both AIPAC (which spent $7 million) and the progressive left.

2nd District: AIPAC-backed Donna Miller won the primary to replace retiring Rep. Robin Kelly, who had entered the Senate race.

8th District: Former U.S. Rep. Melissa Bean, backed by $3.9 million from AIPAC-affiliated groups, won the Democratic nomination.

7th District: AIPAC-affiliated spending of $5 million supported Chicago City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin.

The aggregate picture: AIPAC spent over $22 million and secured favorable outcomes in most House races, but its most high-profile intervention — the 9th District — ended in defeat. The crypto lobby's marquee bet on the Senate race likewise failed [9][10].

The Road to November

Stratton will face Don Tracy, a Springfield attorney and former chairman of the Illinois Republican Party, in the November general election. In a state that Joe Biden carried by 17 points in 2020 and where the last Republican senator was Mark Kirk (elected in 2010), Stratton is expected to win comfortably [3].

The larger questions are national. Stratton's victory — built on gubernatorial backing, institutional endorsements, and grassroots mobilization rather than raw spending power — offers a counter-narrative to the growing anxiety among Democrats about the influence of super PAC money in primaries. It suggests that in blue states with strong party infrastructure, endorsements and name recognition can still outweigh financial advantages of two-to-one or greater.

For Pritzker, the win is a down payment on a national profile. For the crypto and pro-Israel lobbies, it is an early warning that the 2026 spending playbook may face diminishing returns. And for Juliana Stratton, it is the culmination of a career that has taken her from mediation work on Chicago's South Side to the threshold of becoming one of the most symbolically significant senators in American history.

Dick Durbin's seat, held by a Democrat since 1997, appears destined to remain in the party's hands — but with a new occupant who represents a generational and demographic shift in Illinois politics.