Juliana Stratton, the former Illinois state representative and current lieutenant governor, will become just the sixth Black woman to serve in the U.S. Senate following her historic victory in Tuesday’s election. The Associated Press called the race for Stratton.

WTTW News reporters are spread out across Chicago covering the 2026 election. Check back throughout the day for continuous updates on local, state and national races.

Juliana Stratton and Don Tracy are vying to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, who will end his political career in January after 30 years in the Senate.

Election Day is just two weeks away, and WTTW News has one more live televised candidate forum for candidates on the ballot for the 2026 general election.

Though hundreds of Republican candidates will appear on the ballot in Illinois in November, the state’s Democrats are focused on a common opponent: President Donald Trump.

Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton was victorious in the March 17 primary election, making her the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate and pushing her closer to possibly taking over longtime U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin’s seat. Stratton faces former Illinois Republican Party Chairman Don Tracy in the Nov. 3 general election.

The companies flooded the state’s Democratic primaries with millions of dollars to promote candidates they believed would have a light touch when it came to regulating technologies that have begun to upend how people do their jobs and manage their finances.

The intense race has drawn tens of millions of dollars spent by outside groups on television, mail and online advertisements, with most coming from pro-Israel, pro-artificial intelligence development, pro-cryptocurrency and pro-cloud data center interests.

With a little more than a week until the March 17 election, the debate hosted by WTTW News’ “Chicago Tonight” was the first after President Donald Trump launched the war against Iran that has already killed seven members of the U.S. military.

The three top Democrats vying to become the party’s nominee for U.S. senator in Illinois have released proposals detailing how they plan to make life more affordable for Americans.

By contrast, Krishnamoorthi’s two main rivals in the Democratic primary, Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton and Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Matteson, have yet to spend a dime on television advertising.

There promises to be nothing boring about the Illinois race to replace U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, who will retire in 2027 after 30 years in office.

With no other Democratic candidates announcing campaigns for the 2026 primary by Monday morning, Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton secured the endorsement of two of the state’s top Democrats before fielding any competition.

Just one day into her campaign to replace retiring Sen. Dick Durbin in the U.S. Senate, Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton on Friday received a key endorsement from Gov. J.B. Pritzker, nearly eight years after he first tapped her to be his running mate.

“For too long, the middle class has been centered on the campaign trail but sidelined when it comes to real governance,” newly announced U.S. Senate candidate Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton said.

Illinois is facing challenges in the still early days of President Donald Trump’s second term, and the state is pushing back. Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton joined “Chicago Tonight: Black Voices” to talk more about the state’s response.