Author’s Note: A profile of Rep. Robin Kelly is forthcoming and will be linked here when published.

For a profile of Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, click here.

After two terms as Illinois’ lieutenant governor, Juliana Stratton is looking to represent the state in a new position, and she has a key ally in that effort.

Stratton, who also served in the Illinois House of Representatives before becoming lieutenant governor, is aiming to replace the retiring Sen. Dick Durbin in Washington, and her biggest endorsement so far has come from Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who has also donated millions of dollars to political action committees supporting her candidacy.

Stratton is painting herself as a progressive alternative to Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, and she is also aiming to fend off the challenge from Rep. Robin Kelly as the three lead the race in the Democratic primary.

In an interview with NBC Chicago’s Mary Ann Ahern, Stratton laid out her vision for what a career in the Senate might look like for her, and she said her relationship with Pritzker is only part of that equation.

“I’m going to bring the voices of the people of Illinois with me to Washington, D.C. And I hope to continue to be a partner to not just the governor, but for all of our leaders here in Illinois that are facing the chaos that’s coming out of Washington, DC,” she said. “We need strong leadership, we need courageous leadership and that’s what I intend to bring. And I’m very proud to have Governor Pritzker’s support in this race.”

While Krishnamoorthi has been aggressive in his advertising campaign throughout the race, Stratton has really ratcheted up her efforts in the last few months, including a viral advertisement in which numerous Illinois residents said “f*** Trump.”

Stratton said she got great feedback on the advertisement.

“I think that this ad really just captured where people are right now,” she said. “I mean, I’m getting such great feedback where people come up to me and say, ‘it could not have been said better for what we’re feeling with how fed up we are with what’s happening in Washington, D.C.’ And the way that Donald Trump is attacking so many states, especially Democratic-led states, like Illinois. It was an opportunity to kind of find in 30 seconds a way to capture what so many people are expressing in the streets as they protest and that’s all it was and I think it did it so well.”

Stratton has sought to differentiate herself from Krishnamoorthi in several key ways, including refusing to take PAC money from corporations, something she says her opponent has done to the tune of millions of dollars.

“He has taken millions of dollars of corporate PAC money, and that’s included from MAGA allies and author of Project 2025 and some of the corporations that are helping Donald Trump to build his golden ballroom,” she said. “So when it comes to who’s going to stand up to Donald Trump, it’s certainly not the one that’s being funded by some of his allies.”

She also said that Krishnamoorthi isn’t “generating a lot of enthusiasm,” and that her campaign is focused on measures to help Illinois, including raising wages and making healthcare more affordable.

Part of her pitch to bolster her progressive credentials has been her advocating for the minimum wage to be raised to $25 per hour.

“What I’m proposing is $25 an hour,” she said. “I mean, the federal minimum wage is $7.25. I’ve been proud that we’ve raised it to $15 an hour here in Illinois, but that’s only $31,200 a year. And when I think about what I am hearing from families who say it’s hard to put food on the table with prices of groceries going up, a president who said he would lower inflation, we have not seen that happen at all.”

Stratton has also joined Pritzker and other state leaders in pushing back against the administration of President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, and she has gone on record calling for ICE to be completely abolished.

“I’m calling to abolish ICE because I don’t see this as being an agency that can be reformed. Look at what we saw in Operation Midway Blitz, what we see in Minneapolis,” she said. “The way that Trump is operating, it’s not an agency that’s focused on immigration or, quite frankly, public safety. So what I wanna see is let’s change the whole system and look at it from a holistic standpoint where we can invest more in immigration judges, community-based resources, social services, and help people.”

Finally, Stratton says her campaign seeks to represent the entire state of Illinois, reaching out to residents who feel that politicians are too focused on helping Chicago.

“Even though I live in the city of Chicago, I’ve made it a point to travel every corner of this great state to listen to the people of Illinois that may have different needs,” she said. “But what I will always say is that it’s not just about the rural-urban divide. It’s about building the rural urban bridge. And that’s what I’ve been able to do as Lieutenant Governor.”

The 2026 Illinois primary will conclude on March 17.