Illinois’ Democratic primary elections on Tuesday received a lot of attention, and not always for the candidates on the ballot. The primary for the open seat left by retiring Sen. Dick Durbinhad served as a test for Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker’s political clout ahead of a potential 2028 presidential run.
And outside spending from pro-Israel groups and pro-crypto groups, had swarmed House primaries in the closing weeks.
Here are five takeaways from Tuesday’s results:
Stratton on path to make history
Should she win her general election where she is heavily favored in the Democratic stronghold of Illinois, Lt. Gov. Julianna Stratton will become the sixth Black woman to serve in the U.S. Senate.
A South Side Chicago native and attorney, Stratton served as a state representative for two years before becoming Pritzker’s lieutenant governor in 2018. Her win on Tuesday was bolstered by a strong showing in Chicago, and remaining competitive with her main opponent, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, in more suburban and rural areas of the state.
She framed herself as a strong fighter against the Trump administration, which was shown in her campaign’s viral ad that featured voters launching expletives at the president.
She has pledged to push to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a message that resonated after the Trump administration’s “Operation Midway Blitz” immigration crackdown in Chicago. And in debates and on the airwaves, she’d highlight and criticize donations a Palantir executive made to Krishnamoorthi. Palantir develops software tools for ICE.
“What people are tired of in Washington is the status quo … they’re looking for someone to go to the mat fighting for them,” she told CBS News in an interview on Monday.
In addition to the backing from Pritzker, Stratton had endorsements from Sens. Tammy Duckworth and Elizabeth Warren. Stratton has said that if elected to the Senate, she would not support New York Sen. Chuck Schumer as leader of the Democratic caucus.
Pritzker shows political power ahead of potential 2028 run
At Stratton’s watch party in Chicago, Pritzker told staff and supporters that he knows the bet he made on Stratton.
“A lot of people have suggested this was personal to me. They were right. It was,” Pritzker said Tuesday night.
Pritzker had been tied to Stratton’s Senate campaign since day one. He appeared in several TV ads from her campaign and a pro-Stratton super PAC, Illinois Future PAC, that he funded with at least $5 million of his own money.
And on Election Day, he was spotted alongside Stratton at the famous Manny’s Cafeteria & Delicatessen in Chicago, to make a last-minute push.
“I’m not choosing candidates because I’ve taken a poll ahead of time and decided that I can only support a candidate that I know absolutely 100% is going to win,” Pritzker said on Tuesday, according to Politico. “When you’ve got somebody that is hyper-qualified for the job, that’s who I’m supporting.”
But his backing of Stratton had risks. Stratton had lagged in polling for months in the race as her main opponent, Krishnamoorthi, had a massive fundraising arsenal and put up TV advertisements since last July.
The Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, which had backed a third candidate, Rep. Robin Kelly, also showed frustrations with the governor’s involvement. “Quite frankly, [Pritzker’s] behavior in this race won’t soon be forgotten by any of us,” Rep. Yvette Clarke told Punchbowl News. Clarke put out a statement on Wednesday congratulating Stratton, and said it was a moment “that calls for unity.”
Pritzker, who is up for reelection in November for a rare third term as Illinois governor, has said he is not considering a 2028 campaign for president at this moment. But Stratton’s win is a force of political power for the governor, as he gets a close political partner in the Senate.
“It’s no secret that Black women are the backbone of the Democratic party, and if you are part of their ascendant leadership, that’s a big win for a white male who may want to run for President,” said Democratic operative Hyma Moore.
“Whatever he does, I can say if that’s what he decides to do, he would be wonderful at it,” Stratton told reporters on Wednesday. “I think he’d make a great president.”
Outside spending from AIPAC, crypto and AI sees mixed return on investment
Pro-Israel, cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence committees contributed over $52.7 million dollars in outside spending for the Senate primary and several House Democratic primaries in the Chicagoland area. And they saw mixed results.
The pro-crypto Fairshake PAC spent about $10 million against Stratton, in hopes of a Krishnamoorthi win, according to Federal Election Committee filings. Their preferred candidate in Illinois’ 2nd, 8th and 13th District won, while they lost in the 7th District.
“We are just getting started in our nationwide fight for American innovation,” said Fairshake PAC spokesperson Geoff Vetter.
The pro-artificial intelligence Think Big PAC had spent about over $1 million to back 8th District winner Melissa Bean, and about the same amount to Jesse Jackson Jr.’s failed comeback attempt in Illinois’ 2nd district.
But the American Israel Political Action Committee (AIPAC) was the largest spender. They spent over $21 million across four Chicagoland races, propping up committees with broad names that didn’t have obvious ties to AIPAC or mentioning Israel in any of the advertisements they funded.
They saw an even split in Tuesday night’s House results. Their preferred candidate won in the 2nd and 7th districts and lost in the 8th and 9th district. The group claimed a broader victory Tuesday night, noting that “half a dozen anti-Israel candidates” had lost their primaries and indicated that they’re ready to spend more in future 2026 primaries.
AIPAC had been a rallying cry in the 9th District in particular, the race they spent over $7 million. The eventual winner, Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss, had campaigned against the group’s involvement, showing the shifting politics of pro-Israel stances in the Democratic party.
Biss, the grandson of a Holocaust survivor, supports a two-state solution and said the “oppression of the Palestinian people is an unacceptable stain on the world and the Jewish people as well.”
“AIPAC found out the hard way. The 9th district is not for sale,” Biss said Tuesday night.
“This victory belongs to J-Street,” he added, referencing a liberal pro-Israel outside group that backed Biss.
Progressive candidates fall short
Further-left progressives felt emboldened after New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s 2025 victory, and Analilia Mejia in New Jersey’s 11th District special election primary earlier this year. But in primaries Tuesday night where candidates with similar platforms ran, they’ve fallen short.
Kat Abughazaleh, a 26-year-old Palestinian American journalist who ran in the Illinois’ 9th District but had only moved to Chicagoland last year, lost to Biss by just over 3 points. Junaid Ahmed, a tech businessman, lost to Bean in Illinois’ 8th District by 5 points. Illinois state Sen. Robert Peters, who had backing from the progressive Working Families Party, placed third in the Illinois’ 2nd District.
While all three had run to the left of their main opponents on immigration and Israel, the topic of affordability had been center to their campaign messaging, similar to Mamdani in New York.
But despite involvement from the Congressional Progressive Caucus and the Justice Democrats group, which backed Abughazaleh and Ahmed, as well as endorsements from Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, the left-wing of the Democratic party still left Illinois relatively empty handed.
High turnout
Turnout for the state’s Senate primary is the highest since former President Barack Obama’s Democratic Senate primary in 2004, with over 1.1 million votes cast so far. Voters in Chicago and its suburbs in Cook County also set the record for early votingsurpassing the previous record of 106,252 early ballots cast for the 2018 primaries, the last time President Trump was in office during a midterm election season.