Illinois Senate Race 2026

Compare candidates running in this Illinois federal race. Review their positions, voting records, campaign promises, and donor information.

Don Tracy

Party: Republican

Juliana Stratton

Party: Democrat

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Illinois Senate Race

Election: Nov 3, 2026Updated: Apr 6, 2026
📊Polling
No general election head-to-head polls available as of April 2026. Stratton heavily favored in Democratic-leaning Illinois.
safe d— Cook Political Report

Illinois is a solidly Democratic state where Democrats hold significant statewide advantages. This seat is unlikely to flip to Republican control given Stratton's strong position in a blue state.

Don TracyR
Juliana StrattonD

Summary

Don Tracy is an American lawyer, Republican politician, and business owner. Tracy served as acting and confirmed chair of the Illinois Gaming Board (2015–2019), an appointee of then-Governor Bruce Rauner, and as chair of the Illinois Republican Party (2021–2024). Tracy was born in 1949 or 1950, and is the son of the late founder of Dot Foods, Mount Sterling, Illinois, and is the eldest of 12 children in the family. He attended Arizona State University, and the University of Memphis Law School. Tracy is a part of the family ownership group of the privately held, major food-redistribution company, Dot Foods, where he has also served as general outside counsel.

Juliana Stratton is the Lieutenant Governor of Illinois, having assumed office on January 14, 2019, with her current term ending on January 11, 2027. She earned a bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1987 and a J.D. from DePaul University College of Law in 1992. Her career experience includes serving as the executive director of Cook County Justice for Children and the Cook County Justice Advisory Council. She was the founder and president of JDS Mediation Services, Inc. and taught conflict management and negotiation skills at Loyola University Chicago. Stratton, born and raised on Chicago's South Side, was a lawyer before winning a state House seat in 2016. Pritzker tapped her to join him on the Democratic ticket in 2018, and she has served as his lieutenant governor for the past eight years.

Campaign Promises

Economy
  • Lower cost of living
  • Reduce government spending and inflation
  • Energy independence and lower energy costs
  • Support small businesses and manufacturers
Immigration
  • Border security and immigration enforcement
Immigration
  • Abolish ICE
Economy
  • $25 minimum wage
  • Tax the wealthy
Healthcare
  • Medicare for All
Other
  • Oppose Chuck Schumer as Senate leader

Key Issue Positions

Cost of living
Reduce inflation and government spending to lower costs
The sky-high cost-of-living in Illinois has made the American Dream seem out of reach for many everyday Illinoisans. Utility prices, housing costs, gas and groceries are way too high, and health care costs keep rising at an unsustainable pace. Illinois working families need someone who will work for them in Washington.
Immigration
Border security and law enforcement with humane implementation
I believe immigration policy should be grounded in realism, fairness, and accountability, and the best interests of the nation, not political agendas or extreme ideologies. Illinois families deserve a system that is orderly, secure, and humane, and as U.S. Senator, I will fight for reforms that reflect common sense.
Healthcare
Market-based solutions with transparency and competition
Rising health care costs are squeezing working families across Illinois, forcing too many people to choose between paying medical bills, buying groceries, or keeping the lights on. The Senate must address this problem with common sense, rather than the same top-down, government-centric approaches that have driven costs even higher. Affordability starts with empowering patients, not politicians. We should increase price transparency so families know what care actually costs before they receive it.
Representation of all Illinois
Focus on rural and downstate representation
Born in Urbana and raised in Mount Sterling in western Illinois, Tracy built his campaign pitch around geography. Senator Dick Durbin's retirement after nearly 30 years means Illinois is losing its only statewide officeholder not from Chicago or Cook County. Tracy has argued that the state's other 101 counties have no statewide representation and that all his Democratic opponents are from Cook County.
Immigration and ICE
Abolish ICE and restructure immigration enforcement
Stratton's campaign countered that she backs border security and deporting violent offenders, but accused Trump of targeting immigrant communities more broadly. The campaign stated that "Juliana believes ICE should be abolished and we need to overhaul our entire immigration system to move away from punitive enforcement and create real pathways for legal citizenship, including for Dreamers and DACA recipients."
Healthcare
Support Medicare for All
We must act and ensure every single American has access to the healthcare they deserve.
Cost of living
Address inflation and rising costs through government intervention
Alongside Governor Pritzker, I've helped bring down costs, ensure workers are paid fairly, eliminate the grocery tax, raise the minimum wage, relieve medical debt, and lower prescription drug prices. On the federal level, I'll fight for a $25 minimum wage, Medicare for All, and a tax cut for the middle class.

Top Donors

Personal campaign funds
$2,145,931.28Individual
Total raised through December 31, 2025
Republican Party endorsements and support
VariousOrganization
Support from state GOP party officials and former Republicans
JB Pritzker (Governor)
$5,000,000+Individual
Donated to Illinois Future PAC supporting Stratton
Pritzker Family members
$6,100,000Individual
Comprised 82% of Illinois Future PAC donations
AFSCME Illinois Council No. 31 PAC
$138,900Industry PAC
Labor union support
SEIU Healthcare Illinois Indiana PAC
$121,201.83Industry PAC
Labor union support
Illinois Federation of Teachers COPE
$85,000Industry PAC
Education union support
Michael Reinsdorf (Chicago Bulls owner)
Individual contributionIndividual
Billionaire donor
Jerry Reinsdorf (Chicago White Sox owner)
Individual contributionIndividual
Billionaire donor

Contradictions

Claim: Violated ethics rules while on Gaming Board
Contradiction: During the period of Tracy's extended service with the IGB, on May 31 2019, Katherine Fischer, an Assistant IG of the Executive Inspector General, issued a final report alleging that Tracy "engaged in a prohibited political activity... [in] making a $1,000 campaign contribution to a legislative candidate while serving as chair" of the Gaming Board. However, no further prosecutorial action followed. Tracy sought to clear his name, requesting a hearing before the Illinois Executive Ethics Commission (IEEC), a request that was denied. Tracy then went to court, litigating the denial for two-years, and winning a circuit court verdict that he was, under the law, entitled to a hearing. At the hearing, which took place in December 2024, the IEEC ruled in January 2025 that "the inspector general [had earlier] failed to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that Tracy had violated the law."
Source: Wikipedia, Illinois Executive Inspector General
Claim: Rejects corporate PAC money
Contradiction: According to filings from the FEC, the Pritzker family has donated the vast majority of Stratton's $6.3 million in contributions to her "Illinois Future PAC." Records indicate that the family has donated $6.1 million — or 82% — of that figure. Stratton has drawn support from notable donors like billionaire Gov. JB Pritzker; Michael Reinsdorf, the billionaire owner of the Chicago Bulls; Jerry Reinsdorf, the billionaire owner of the Chicago White Sox; Deborah Simon, the daughter of a late billionaire; and others.
Source: Fox News, FEC records
Claim: Jesse Jackson endorsement
Contradiction: The family of Rev. Jesse Jackson is disputing an eyebrow-raising posthumous announcement of an endorsement of Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton for U.S. Senate, saying on Monday that his primary choices were not finalized before his death last month. Her son later clarified that while his father had considered candidates to back, he had not solidified his choice before his death and a "draft sample ballot" had erroneously been released.
Source: Chicago Sun-Times, ABC7 Chicago
Claim: Only candidate rejecting corporate PAC money
Contradiction: Krishnamoorthi fired back at "Stratton's hypocrisy," pointing to another Sun-Times analysis that found the lieutenant governor has a long history of taking corporate campaign dollars for her state campaigns.
Source: St. Louis Public Radio

What Opponents Say

Juliana Stratton

Tracy will not stand up to Trump

Stratton said on the Fox 32 show that "I would define [Tracy] as someone who's not going to stand up to Donald Trump, someone who's not going to fight for the best interest of the people of Illinois."

Juliana Stratton

Tracy is overly broad in characterizing her positions

Tracy is calling her soft on welfare reform and immigration. Tracy's campaign decried that claim as "overly broad … Don Tracy is running to represent the people of the State of Illinois, and their interests are his priority over a political agenda … Tracy won't be a rubber stamp for anyone."

Don Tracy

Stratton is an 'open borders advocate'

Tracy is calling her soft on welfare reform and immigration, saying on Paris Schutz's Chicago Report that "Miss Stratton is an open borders advocate, meaning that she is probably opposed to any and all deportations, except maybe a few exceptions."

Don Tracy

Stratton won't stand up to Trump

Meanwhile, Stratton is casting Tracy as a presidential puppet whose policies the former Illinois GOP leader will have to carefully navigate in a blue state.

Endorsements

Mark Kirkindividual
Mike Bostindividual
Darin LaHoodindividual
Kathy Salviindividual
Illinois Federation of Young Republicansorganization
Various Republican township organizationsorganization
Governor JB Pritzkerindividual
Senator Tammy Duckworthindividual
Senator Elizabeth Warrenindividual
National Nurses Unitedorganization
Illinois Federation of Teachersorganization
House Speaker Emanuel 'Chris' Welchindividual
Various state legislative leadersindividual
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