Politics

Stratton, Tracy Vie to Replace Dick Durbin in US Senate

Democratic Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton and Republican Don Tracy squared off Tuesday to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, battling to win a rare open seat in a contest that will reshape Illinois politics.

Durbin will end his political career in January after 30 years in the Senate.

Stratton, boosted by her alliance with Gov. JB Pritzker, won the Democratic nomination in March after promising to aggressively confront President Donald Trump.

If elected, Stratton would be the second Black woman to represent Illinois in the U.S. Senate, after former U.S. Sen. Carol Moseley Braun became the first Black woman elected to the Senate. Only five Black women have ever served in the U.S. Senate.

Before becoming lieutenant governor, Stratton served in the Illinois House of Representatives.

Tracy, a businessman and lawyer, was a member of the Illinois Gaming Board before leading the Illinois Republican Party.

During the campaign to replace Durbin, Tracy repeatedly attacked Stratton as a socialist and accused her of wanting to fund unaffordable programs.

By contrast, Stratton frequently linked Tracy to Trump, blaming him for making everything from rent and gas to healthcare and groceries more expensive by launching a war with Iran and imposing tariffs the U.S. Supreme Court declared illegal.

As guests started to roll in to the Democratic Party of Illinois election night gathering before polls closed, WTTW News spoke with Dovile Cather, the campaign manager for Stratton. 

Stratton, Cather said, spent the day visiting polling locations, and encouraged people to get out to vote. She said it’s been an exciting day, especially with the prospect that Stratton could be the sixth Black woman to serve in the U.S. Senate and the second from the state.

“I think this race, especially across the team, we always knew it was bigger than any one of us,” Cather said. “It was about representing Black voters in Chicago and across the entire state.

The candidates faced off just once during the campaign, during a forum hosted by WTTW News.

Stratton, 61, has vowed to raise the federal hourly minimum wage to $25, to abolish U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and expand Medicare to all Americans to replace private health insurance.

Tracy, 76, has promised he would chart a moderate course in the Senate, working to reduce inflation and gas prices while embracing initiatives that help businesses.

Also in the race is third-party candidate Whitfield Harrington Jr., running as the nominee for the American Center Party, which he calls a middle ground for Illinoisans who are unsatisfied with polarizing politics. Harrington is a pastor and former financial services professional with a campaign centered on affordability, healthcare access and government reform.

“Right now, both the Democratic and the Republican parties, they used to present a vision to the American people and how they wanted to move the nation forward,” Harrington told WTTW News. “And you don’t see that anymore. What you see is just division — arguing and bickering. And I’m pretty sure it’s on full display all across the country.”

This U.S. Senate election is the first without an incumbent in Illinois since 2010, when Republican Mark Kirk won the seat once held by former President Barack Obama. 

However, it has been 12 years since any Republican has won a statewide office in Illinois, as voters in the state began to regularly cast their ballots for Democrats, a trend that accelerated as the Republican Party moved to the right under Trump.

Trump did not endorse Tracy, although Tracy said he would welcome the president’s endorsement if it was offered.

Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | [email protected]

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