J.B. Pritzker and his protégé, Juliana Stratton.
Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images
In 1992, Illinois became the first state to elect a Black woman to the U.S. Senate after Carol Moseley Braun upset incumbent Democratic senator Alan Dixon in the primary and went on to easily win the general election. This year, two Black women — Illinois lieutenant governor Juliana Stratton and U.S. representative Robin Kelly — are viable contenders for the Senate seat opened up by the retirement of five-term Democrat Dick Durbin. But a third candidate, U.S. representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, was the early front-runner in the contest. Krishnamoorthi, who is Indian American, could still win, leaving Black Democrats in the state grumbling at each other for dividing forces.
Krishnamoorthi, who has represented an urban-suburban Chicago district since 2016, built a large early fundraising advantage and then benefited from heavy spending by a crypto-industry super-PAC that has criticized his opponents. More recently, Stratton has caught up in both campaign spending and in the polls in part thanks to financial backing from a super-PAC created by her most important backer, two-term governor J.B. Pritzker (she’s also supported by another Illinois senator, Tammy Duckworth). Kelly, a veteran Chicago politician who enjoys support from her colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus, has trailed far behind in fundraising and has lost altitude in the polls.
Figuring out whether Krishnamoorthi or Stratton is actually leading the race has been complicated by a shortage of independent polls, as The Hill noted last week:
An early March poll commissioned by a pro-Krishnamoorthi group put him up 11 points over Stratton, with 15 percent of respondents undecided, as shared by Politico. But other results signal a potential surge for Stratton: A survey commissioned by the DLGA the same week showed Stratton leading the congressman by 2 points, with 25 percent of respondents undecided.
Though Krishnamoorthi is sometimes identified as a centrist and Stratton as a progressive (Elizabeth Warren has campaigned for her), identity has trumped ideology in the contest with one exception: controversy over crypto regulation. It figures. Durbin has been a major crypto critic, and replacing him with a friendlier senator would be a predictable goal for an industry that has built a huge national war chest for 2026. As the Washington Post reports, crypto bros are pretty clear on their Illinois preferences:
Stand With Crypto, an industry group that rates politicians’ records, categorizes Krishnamoorthi as a strong crypto supporter, citing his votes for the Genius Act and another bill championed by the industry, the Clarity Act.
Krishnamoorthi said in the interview that he supported crypto regulation that prevents Americans from being defrauded but still allows for innovation.
Stand With Crypto describes Kelly as “somewhat against crypto” and Stratton as “strongly against crypto.” (Pritzker signed legislation last year that the crypto industry opposed.)
Stratton’s reputation in crypto-land is made even worse by her support from Warren, who is the industry’s least favorite politician (rivaled only by Warren protégé Katie Porter, whose 2024 U.S. Senate race in California was demolished by heavy crypto-financed negative ads). Overall, the Krishnamoorthi-Stratton contest is in danger of becoming a surrogate fight between the money and influence of crypto and Pritzker.
Some pro-Krishnamoorthi donors appear to be diverting some of their dollars to pro-Kelly advertising, presumably in order to split the Black vote, as the Chicago Sun-Times reported:
Kelly is the beneficiary of digital ads paid for by The Impact Fund, a super political action committee that is spending $1 million on the race this year, according to Federal Election Commission records, including $500,000 in support of Kelly; $250,000 supporting Krishnamoorthi; and $250,000 in anti-Stratton ads. The Impact Fund is a political arm of Indian American Impact.
Team Stratton isn’t happy with Team Kelly, notes the New York Times:
Ms. Stratton’s supporters are openly angry at Ms. Kelly and the Congressional Black Caucus, which typically backs its own members seeking higher office. Caucus members have refused to back down in the face of claims that they are poised to hand a Senate seat to Mr. Krishnamoorthi.
This sentiment was probably intensified by the narrow Senate primary loss in Texas earlier this month by Black representative Jasmine Crockett. A dual Stratton-Kelly loss might be even more bitterly resented than Crockett’s, since the primary winner in Illinois is virtually guaranteed a general-election victory. There is a GOP Senate primary tomorrow as well, but it’s so low profile that an independent poll in January showed an incredible 84 percent of Illinois Republicans were undecided. Former state party chair Don Tracy has handily led in fundraising and endorsements.
Illinois does not have a majority-vote requirement for party nominations, so whoever finishes first in the Krishnamoorthi-Stratton competition will be on her or his way to the Senate, presumably after healing some intra-party wounds. Perceptions of the crypto industry’s political clout, and of J.B. Pritzker’s 2028 presidential prospects, will prosper or suffer accordingly.
