There was a little something for everyone in Tuesday’s Democratic primary results in Illinois. Let’s dive in.
Stratton completes Senate comeback. Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton defeated Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi and Robin Kelly to win the Democratic Senate primary. Krishnamoorthi was the polling leader for most of this race and outspent his opponents by a significant margin.
But Stratton surged in the race’s final stretch. Stratton raised comparatively little money. But she was boosted heavily by a super PAC that Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker poured millions of dollars into. Pritzker’s support infuriated the Congressional Black Caucus, which was backing Kelly.
Stratton allies attacked Krishnamoorthi from the left, urging the five-term House member to take tougher stances against ICE. Krishnamoorthi allies tried to boost Kelly in the closing days of the campaign in an apparent attempt to siphon Black votes away from Stratton.
Stratton will be heavily favored to win the general election and become the third Black woman currently serving in the Senate, joining Sens. Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.) and Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.). Stratton would also be the fourth Black senator from Illinois, joining Democrats Barack Obama, Carol Moseley Braun and Roland Burris.
A mixed bag for AIPAC. AIPAC and its allied groups spent more than $21 million in four open House seats. The pro-Israel organization went two for four. Not terrible, but also not a great return on investment.
The wins: One came in Illinois’ 2nd District, with Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller, and another in Illinois’ 8th District, with former Rep. Melissa Bean (D-Ill.).
Miller beat former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) in the race to replace Kelly. This came despite Jackson spending weeks in the headlines with the death of his father, the legendary civil rights figure. Robert Peters, who was endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), trailed far behind Miller.
Bean beat Junaid Ahmed, another progressive candidate critical of Israel. Bean is a former Blue Dog who last served in the House more than a decade ago.
The losses: In the 7th District, state Rep. La Shawn Ford prevailed despite some $5 million in spending from an AIPAC-backed group benefitting his opponent Chicago Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin.
Ford was backed by retiring incumbent Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.). He spent just $55,000 on ads and weathered nearly $2 million in attack ads from Fairshake.
But the race that drew the most hand-wringing was in the 9th District where Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss prevailed. This is a mixed outcome for AIPAC. A super PAC backed by the group dropped $1.4 million to block Biss and $4.4 million to help state Sen. Laura Fine, who came in third.
Yet AIPAC avoided the worst outcome for them: a win by Kat Abughazaleh, who is sharply critical of Israel.
