Pritzker cash propels Stratton to Illinois Senate win

A billionaire governor's wallet and political machine dragged an underfunded ally to a Senate nomination over rivals who had way more cash and name recognition.

Pritzker basically ran Stratton's campaign

• JB Pritzker bankrolled the vast majority of her ads.
• His super PAC's closing spot featured him more than Stratton.
• They campaigned together across Chicago in the final weeks.
• David Axelrod called Stratton a political creation of Pritzker's.

Stratton ran hard left on her platform

• Juliana Stratton pushed for a $25-per-hour minimum wage.
• She called for abolishing ICE outright.
• Retaining Chuck Schumer as Senate leader got a firm no.
• One TV ad featured Illinoisans colorfully cursing Trump.

Rivals threw serious money and still lost

• Krishnamoorthi's $20M head start meant absolutely nothing.
• Crypto-backed Fairshake blasted $10M in attack ads at her.
• Indian American Impact spent $1M splitting Black-neighborhood votes.
• Robin Kelly jabbed Pritzker's outsized financial influence publicly.

Presidential ambitions lurk behind all of this

• Pritzker is widely viewed as eyeing a 2028 run.
• Stratton could become a crucial surrogate with Black voters.
• Her win hands him a major nationwide bragging point.
• Angela Alsobrooks was the sole out-of-state Black endorser.

Stratton's thin political profile before this race

• She entered with less name recognition than both rivals.
• Her last solo ballot appearance was back in 2016.
• Small-dollar donors never warmed to her campaign at all.
• Pat Quinn said the whole bid rode on Pritzker's name.