By BEN SZALINSKI
Capitol News Illinois
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SPRINGFIELD – U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth endorsed Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton on Monday in the 2026 Democratic primary for Illinois’ open seat to replace longtime Sen. Dick Durbin.
Duckworth’s endorsement comes after Gov. JB Pritzker endorsed Stratton on Friday, one day after she entered the Senate contest. With no other Democratic candidates announcing campaigns for the 2026 primary by Monday morning, Stratton secured the endorsement of two of the state’s top Democrats before fielding any competition.
“Juliana has not only proven to be an experienced and effective Lieutenant Governor — she’s demonstrated time and again that she truly understands and cares for working people,” Duckworth said in a statement. “Their struggles are her struggles. Their wins are her wins.”
Duckworth, a Democrat from Hoffman Estates, will take over as the state’s senior senator in January 2027 after Durbin’s term ends, as he announced last week he plans to retire. An Army veteran who earned a Purple Heart while serving in Iraq, Duckworth was elected to the Senate in 2016.
“Her many years spent in public service, along with her experience as a mom to four daughters and a caregiver to her own mother, have given her the tenacity, grit and perspective to be a true advocate on behalf of working families,” Duckworth said of Stratton.
Durbin told reporters at his Springfield home last week that he will likely not make any endorsements in the primary.
Stratton secured Pritzker’s endorsement Friday. The two have spent the last six years leading Illinois following two successful elections.
Pritzker praised Stratton as a “champion for women’s rights, for job creation, for rural families, for farmers, for criminal justice, for early childhood education,” and credited the lieutenant governor as having played an integral role in his administration.
Asked Friday whether his endorsement tamps down a competitive race for Durbin’s seat, Pritzker said, “Anybody who wants to run should run. But I’m telling you this is the person whose best able to serve with integrity, with honor.”
Stratton, of Chicago, has quickly risen through the ranks of Illinois politics after first being elected as a state representative in 2016. She was elected lieutenant governor two years later as Pritzker’s running mate during the 2018 campaign.
It’s still unclear whether other Democrats will announce they are joining Stratton in the primary as whoever enters the race will go in knowing they won’t be endorsed by two of the state’s leading Democrats.
U.S. Reps. Lauren Underwood, of Naperville, Raja Krishnamoorthi, of Schaumburg, Robin Kelly, of Matteson, and state Treasurer Mike Frerichs, of Chicago, all have said they are considering entering the race.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
