In Illinois Senate Race, Old Grudges and a Test of Pritzker's Power
The Democratic contest for an Illinois Senate seat is shaping up as a test of the political power of Gov. JB Pritzker over a primary field of candidates who enter the race with deep animosity for one another and skepticism about the governor's influence.
Few policy differences exist among the three declared candidates and others who might enter the race in the coming weeks. Instead, Illinois Democrats are prepared for a contest animated by personal and political grudges stemming from the Statehouse, the halls of Congress and the governor's mansion.
The race formally began late last month, when Senator Richard J. Durbin announced that he would not seek a sixth term. But the Democrats now vying for his seat have been prepping their campaigns for years.
Mr. Pritzker's choice, Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, created a super PAC in January. Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi has amassed a $19 million war chest — far more than he would ever need in his safe district that covers Chicago's western suburbs. And Representative Robin Kelly of Chicago has won endorsements from 18 members of the Congressional Black Caucus.
The biggest question hanging over the Democratic primary concerns money — how much Mr. Pritzker intends to spend to back Ms. Stratton, who, like most lieutenant governors, has little profile of her own.
Electing Ms. Stratton could be a boon for Mr. Pritzker as he positions himself ahead of the 2028 presidential contest, in which she could serve as a valuable campaign surrogate. The governor, a billionaire, is no stranger to cutting enormous checks. In 2022, he spent more than $35 million just to influence the Republican primary in his re-election campaign.
But Mr. Pritzker's push to send Ms. Stratton to the Senate has been met with resistance by the state's congressional delegation, whose members have chafed over the influence his billions have had in the state. That irritation has combined with a host of personal and political resentments among the candidates, Mr. Pritzker and Senator Tammy Duckworth, another early endorser of Ms. Stratton.
All told, the contest has enough beef to satisfy a busy lunch hour at one of Chicago's sandwich shops.
'This is Illinois, which is a place of sharp elbows and rough-and-tumble politics,' said Representative Nikki Budzinski, a Democrat who said she was not running for the Senate. 'I can't tell you that doesn't seep into the natural process of a statewide election.'
The interpersonal rivalries and longtime feuds animating the race are manifold.
In 2021, Ms. Kelly defeated Mr. Pritzker's candidate to become chair of the Democratic Party of Illinois. In another election a year later, Mr. Pritzker pushed Ms. Kelly out and installed his chosen candidate.
Ms. Kelly was also Mr. Krishnamoorthi's boss when they worked together in the office of the Illinois State Treasurer in the 2000s, a period that ended with the two on bad terms. Mr. Krishnamoorthi declined to speak about his work with Ms. Kelly. She said, 'We're fine now.'
Meanwhile, in 2012, Mr. Krishnamoorthi lost a bitter House primary to Ms. Duckworth, whose seat he won four years later when she was elected to the Senate.
In the House, Mr. Krishnamoorthi quickly became a fund-raising juggernaut. His $19 million — by far the most of any candidate in the race — has prompted jealous ire from others in the Illinois House delegation and made him the target of quiet barbs from rivals. Ms. Stratton's team has sought to frame the race as a two-way one between her and Mr. Krishnamoorthi, a clear snub of Ms. Kelly.
There is also the prospect of Representative Lauren Underwood's joining the race. Mr. Pritzker's team is not so subtly warning her against doing so — suggesting privately that at 38, Ms. Underwood, who represents Chicago's southwest suburbs, has a long future ahead of her in Congress. Left unmentioned: A third Black woman entering the race would most likely be unhelpful for Ms. Stratton.
The NBC affiliate in Chicago recently reported that Mr. Pritzker's allies were calling Ms. Underwood 'damaged goods' in private conversations, a story that Mr. Pritzker and his aides vehemently denied while suggesting someone who wanted to bait Ms. Underwood into the race had planted it.
'I welcome anybody who wants to join the race,' Ms. Stratton said.
But when she was asked specifically if she thought it was a good idea for Ms. Underwood to get in, Ms. Stratton's aide cut off the questioning by saying, 'We're going to stay away from specifics on people right now.'
Ms. Underwood is the candidate best known across the state, even though Ms. Stratton has served in statewide office since 2019.
'When we look at polling and the data, I'm positioned to win,' Ms. Underwood said. 'I'm not trying to be divisive or pit people against each other.'
While all of the candidates portray themselves as a bulwark against the Trump administration, their styles differ. Ms. Stratton said Democrats could not negotiate with the president because he was not an honest broker. Mr. Krishnamoorthi said he would do 'everything in my power' to stand up to Mr. Trump.
And Ms. Kelly contrasted her experience working to pass legislation in a divided Congress with Mr. Pritzker and Ms. Stratton's accomplishments, which have come with Democratic supermajorities in the State Legislature.
'If you just worked in Illinois, it's Democrat, Democrat, Democrat,' Ms. Kelly said. 'I know how to work with everybody.'
There are still others who have considered or are thinking about entering the race.
Sheila Nix, who grew up in Chicago's suburbs and served as Vice President Kamala Harris's campaign chief of staff, spent the weekend of the White House Correspondents' Association dinner last month asking whether she should become a candidate.
'I did give it thought for a little bit, but I think it's not going to work,' Ms. Nix, who remains a top adviser to Ms. Harris, said. 'I would have had to have started raising money a while ago.'
A recent poll about the Senate race that circulated among Illinois Democrats included Representative Sean Casten and Gilbert Villegas, a Chicago alderman.
Mr. Casten's spokesman, Jacob Vurpillat, said the congressman 'does not intend to run right now.' Mr. Villegas said the poll had been commissioned by Latino businessmen concerned that the Senate field did not include Latinos or veterans (Mr. Villegas served as a Marine in the Persian Gulf war of 1991).
'Unless there is a $50 million check that comes with this, it's going to be a tough run,' Mr. Villegas said.
Ms. Stratton dodged questions about what commitments Mr. Pritzker might have made to her. Her aides said he had not promised a specific figure. Mr. Pritzker declined to be interviewed.
Mr. Krishnamoorthi issued a warning to Mr. Pritzker, an heir to the Hyatt hotel fortune, about using his billions to seed a super PAC to attack him on Ms. Stratton's behalf.
Citing the 2010 Supreme Court decision that allowed unlimited corporate spending in elections, Mr. Krishnamoorthi said the cash in his campaign account would help him 'fend off potential attacks from the likes of Elon Musk or anyone else who might take advantage of Citizens United and unleash large sums of money to mischaracterize either my record or any aspect of our campaign.'
And then there are the Republicans.
Democrats in Illinois have won every statewide election for a decade, but Representative Darin LaHood, a Peoria Republican, said he had been talking with Senator John Thune of South Dakota, the majority leader, and Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, the chairman of the Senate G.O.P. campaign committee, about entering the race.
Illinois Republicans do not have a viable backup plan if Mr. LaHood, who represents a rural, safely Republican district, passes on the race.
Former Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich, a Democrat who was impeached and went to prison after being convicted of trying to sell the Senate seat vacated when Barack Obama became president, said in an interview that he, too, was weighing a run.
Mr. Blagojevich, who called himself 'the best governor in modern Illinois political history,' now refers to himself as a 'Trumpocrat,' after Mr. Trump pardoned him in February. He said he had not decided which party's primary he might enter.
'Party labels are less important than they used to be,' he said.
One constant in discussions with Illinois officials is that the Senate race is as fluid and unpredictable a contest as any the state has seen in decades. It is not yet clear how many other candidates will enter the race, or when. And some of those now running could decide the safer bet is to hold on to their House seats, rather than risk a primary loss.
'You're looking at the Kentucky Derby and only about half the horses are at the gate,' said Representative Mike Quigley, a Chicago Democrat. 'Some of the horses that are at the gate won't be at the gate when the race starts, and some of the horses that will be in the gate aren't lining up yet.'
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