Juliana Stratton, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Illinois, faces Republican Don Tracy and American Center candidate Whitfield Harrington Jr. in the Tuesday, Nov. 3 general election.
Stratton won the Democratic primary on March 17 with 40.4% of the vote, or 507,689 votes, defeating U.S. Representatives Raja Krishnamoorthi and Robin Kelly, among others, The 19th reported. If elected, she would become Illinois's second Black woman senator. The seat carries a six-year term.
Candidate information
- Party: Democratic
- Born: Sept. 8, 1965, in Chicago
- Raised: Pill Hill neighborhood, Chicago's South Side
- Education: bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (1987); juris doctor, DePaul University (1992)
- Endorsements (claimed by endorsers): Gov. JB Pritzker; U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth; Carol Moseley-Braun; AFL-CIO; Illinois Federation of Teachers; Cook County Democrats; End Citizens United
Experience and public service
Stratton has served as lieutenant governor of Illinois since 2019. She is the first African American woman to hold that office, according to her biography.
Before that, she represented District 5 in the Illinois House of Representatives from 2017 to 2019. She served as director of the Center for Public Safety and Justice at the University of Illinois at Chicago from 2015 to 2017 and as executive director of the Cook County Justice Advisory Council from 2011 to 2014. Stratton also founded JDS Mediation Services in 1997.
On the issues
The following positions are drawn from Stratton's campaign website and public statements attributed to the candidate. They reflect the candidate's own claims.
Healthcare: Stratton says she supports securing Medicare for All.
Wages and economy: Stratton says she supports raising the federal minimum wage and fighting for a $25 minimum wage. She also says she supports investing in grant programs for small business owners.
Education: Stratton says she supports expanding federal support for trade schools and technical education. She also says she supports restoring the Department of Education.
Abortion and gun safety: Stratton says she supports restoring the abortion protections of Roe v. Wade and passing gun safety laws.
Taxes and the filibuster: Stratton says she supports passing a middle-class tax cut paid for by a tax increase on those making more than a million dollars a year. She also says she supports abolishing or reforming the Senate filibuster, arguing the current 60-vote threshold blocks progress on reproductive rights, gun safety and voting rights. "Illinoisans need their next Senator to stand up and act," Stratton said, according to her campaign materials.
Endorsements
Juliana Stratton’s listed endorsements include Democratic Sens. Tammy Duckworth, Elizabeth Warren and Angela Alsobrooks, Gov. JB Pritzker, Rep. Danny K. Davis and former Rep. Bobby Rush. Other named supporters include Illinois legislators Kelly Cassidy, Tracy Katz Muhl and Emanuel Welch, Chicago City Clerk Anna Valencia, former Sen. Carol Moseley Braun, former Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White and former Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes.
Organizational supporters on the supplied list include the Illinois Nurses Association, National Nurses United, EMILY’s List, End Citizens United and Common Defense Action Fund. The list also includes numerous Sway voting groups and personal voter guides, including North Shore Liberal Moms, Illinois Moms for Change and Western Suburbs Women for Progress. Those entries represent voter-guide recommendations and should be distinguished from formal organizational endorsements.
Candidate positions are based on responses collected through BallotReady and the candidate's campaign website. The Park Ridge Wire presents these positions for informational purposes and does not endorse any candidate.
