Gov. JB Pritzker throws Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton a $5 million lifeline for her US Senate bid

Rick Pearson, Chicago Tribune on Feb 1, 2026

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Gov. JB Pritzker threw his two-term former running mate a $5 million political lifeline, largely bankrolling a political action committee aimed at helping Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton win the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, recent federal campaign finance documents show.

Pritzker’s Dec. 4 contribution to the Illinois Future PAC enabled the committee to book $2 million in TV ads on the day after Christmas, while Stratton’s own campaign fundraising has lagged, according to the documents filed with the Federal Election Commission.

With Pritzker’s contribution and another $1 million from his cousin, Jennifer Pritzker, the Illinois Future PAC, which was funded by 10 donors and led by former Pritzker deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks, began this year with $4 million — almost four times the $1.1 million in cash that Stratton’s own campaign fund had to begin 2026, the FEC records showed. For the last three months of last year, Stratton’s campaign raised $1.1 million but spent $912,379, according to the campaign finance records.

The filings of candidates seeking the March 17 primary nomination for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin showed Democratic U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Schaumburg continuing his torrid fundraising pace.

Krishnamoorthi began 2026 with nearly $15.25 million after raising $3.6 million in the final quarter of last year. He spent $6.4 million, including a heavy TV ad run. He has been on the air with advertising since July.

U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly of Lynwood, who also is seeking the Democratic nomination, raised $212,936 in the final three months of last year while spending nearly $600,000. She began 2026 with $1.6 million in cash on hand.

Kelly’s campaign released its first commercial last week, highlighting her effort to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and hold Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal immigration agents accountable.

The Illinois Future PAC ads for Stratton underscore her working relationship with Pritzker and feature several images of the two of them together. Pritzker had been expected to contribute money to help Stratton’s bid for Senate following his endorsement of her the day after she entered the race. In addition, he, his wife, MK, and their two children have all contributed directly to Stratton’s campaign.

The campaign disclosures come about a month and a half before the primary election and follow a week in which the three major Democratic candidates vying to succeed Durbin squared off twice in debates.

The first debate found Stratton to be the clear aggressor, seeking to stake out the most progressive positions and attacking Krishnamoorthi and Kelly for being “status quo” Washington Democrats. They also clashed over who would be the strongest opponent to President Donald Trump and his aggressive deportation enforcement operations. The second debate highlighted the three agreeing that the nation is facing a constitutional crisis under Trump’s leadership, yet each arguing they would be best equipped to rein in his administration if elected to Washington.

Among the seven other contenders for the Democratic nomination, Steve Botsford had $128,180 in available cash after giving his campaign more than $360,000, while Kevin Ryan reported raising $39,000 in the final quarter of 2025 and had $11,535 in cash on hand to start the year. No other Democratic candidates reported having at least $10,000 in cash available at the start of the year.

Among the six Republicans seeking the party’s Senate nomination, former state GOP Chair Don Tracy had just over $2 million to start the year after previously loaning that amount to his campaign. Tracy raised $83,709 in the last quarter of 2025 while he spent $108,153.

Jeannie Evans, an attorney from Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood, has given her campaign $421,706 in cash and loans, and she reported having $298,594 to start the year. None of the other four GOP candidates in the race reported having more than $6,000 in cash available at the start of the year.

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