Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton won Tuesday’s Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, edging out two sitting members of the U.S. House to advance to a November general election against Republican nominee Don Tracy, the former state party chair.

The retirement of U.S. Sen Dick Durbin, the Senate’s longtime No. 2 Democrat, triggered a competitive campaign on the Democratic side, drawing as candidates Stratton and U.S. Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi and Robin Kelly, among others. Furious fundraising and sharp elbows marked the race, which tested the influence of Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker. The governor, whose name has been floated as a 2028 presidential contender, backed Stratton.

The races were testing grounds for some of the biggest issues facing the Democratic Party, from support for Israel to immigration enforcement and the cryptocurrency and AI industries, as super PACs poured millions of dollars into the hotly contested primaries.

Most primary winners in the Democratic stronghold are expected to win in November, shaping a new generation of leadership in the state’s congressional delegation.

Stratton lagged in fundraising but had the powerful backing of Pritzker, who campaigned with her around the state.

He introduced her Tuesday night before her victory speech, in which she pledged to push for Medicare for all and higher wages, abolish U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and “bring this fight straight to Donald Trump’s door.”

“We are ready to take our democracy back into our own hands,” Stratton told supporters gathered in Chicago.

The race featuring 10 Democrats was expensive. Krishnamoorthi dominated fundraising and was the first on television with ads in July. He started 2026 with over $15 million on hand compared with Stratton’s $1 million, according to campaign finance records. Late last year, Pritzker put $5 million into a super PAC aimed at electing her.

Stratton lit into Krishnamoorthi at debates, particularly on the five-term Democrat’s voting record and donations from an ICE contractor.

Krishnamoorthi, who has called to dismantle the agency, said he donated the money to immigrant rights groups. In a concession speech Tuesday, he brought up his roots as an immigrant who born in India and raised in central Illinois.

“Only in this country can a kid like me serve in the halls of Congress,” he said. “And now we must come together as Democrats and as Americans to make sure that we return to the principles that made us a beacon of freedom and opportunity for the world.”

Rochelle Brockenborough, 64, said she voted for Stratton at the Dr. Martin Luther King Community Service Center in Chicago.

“I wanted to make sure there was no AIPAC money. That’s important to me,” she said, adding that U.S. tax dollars shouldn’t be used to support Israel.

Candidates touted ties to iconic Chicagoans including former President Barack Obama and the late Rev. Jesse Jackson, who died last month. However, an endorsement touted posthumously by Stratton caused a snag as Jackson’s family withdrew it Monday, saying the draft was not meant for public release.

In the GOP primary, Tracy, an attorney who led the Illinois Republican Party from 2021 to 2024, bested five other candidates. The state last had a Republican in the Senate a decade ago, when Mark Kirk was defeated by current Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth.

Election officials hoped to see busy polls after statewide turnout in the 2024 primary was 19%, the lowest in more than five decades. Initial turnout estimates in Chicago were around 25%, according to the Chicago Board of Elections.