Juliana Stratton Wins Illinois Senate Seat

Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton defeated Republican Don Tracy to win the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Dick Durbin, keeping it in Democratic hands. She will be the second Black woman elected to represent Illinois in the Senate, after Carol Moseley Braun, and will serve alongside Sen. Tammy Duckworth, making Illinois the first state to have two women of color in the chamber. Stratton, who previously served in the Illinois House and has been lieutenant governor since 2019, won a hard-fought Democratic primary before a less competitive general election. Her progressive platform included a $25 federal minimum wage, Medicare for All and abolishing ICE, and she opposed President Trump’s policies. She has also led state efforts to address Black maternal health disparities.