When Democratic voters go to the polls next March, it will be the first time in three decades that Dick Durbin won’t be on the primary ballot for the Senate seat he first won after Paul Simon’s retirement. They deserve the chance to select one of the many well-qualified hopefuls who’ve been waiting years for the 80-year-old Durbin to call it a day.
Instead, we see signs that Gov. JB Pritzker and his formidable staff are working on behalf of his lieutenant governor, Juliana Stratton, to clear the field for her — or at the very least to minimize the number of opponents as she seeks to succeed Durbin. The governor, of course, is within his rights to endorse anyone he pleases and even to put some of his personal billions to work for that candidate.
But as Illinois’ top Democrat, Pritzker also ought to encourage a fair and vigorous campaign, contested by multiple candidates, for the seat. These opportunities don’t come along often, and the Democratic bench in Illinois has plenty of elected officials qualified for the U.S. Senate. This is no time for a coronation.
So far, Stratton and U.S. House Rep. Robin Kelly are the only Democrats who’ve announced they’re running. Other Illinois House Democrats such as Raja Krishnamoorthi and Lauren Underwood are understood to be considering bids. Plenty others surely are contemplating a run as well.
One of those, Illinois Treasurer Michael Frerichs, announced Monday he would not be one of them, a surprise given that Frerichs (as he allowed in a letter explaining his decision) was believed to covet Durbin’s seat.
It’s a little puzzling on the surface that so few have disclosed their intentions so far. Then again, perhaps it’s not so baffling when considering Pritzker’s full-throated backing for Stratton, his wealth, and a wide array of influential donors such as Chicago Cubs co-owner Laura Ricketts who already are on board in Stratton campaign leadership positions. Durbin’s fellow senator, Tammy Duckworth, also quickly endorsed Stratton following Pritzker’s announcement.
These are the hallmarks of trying to create an aura of inevitability. And they may well be having that effect.
Democrats who before might have assumed they would jump into the fray quickly once Durbin bowed out can be forgiven for thinking harder now about giving up their current positions. It’s clear they will have to take on not just a candidate with statewide name recognition but the Pritzker organization as well.
But trying to elbow out the competition does a disservice to Illinoisans.
Democrats make up the majority in Illinois, but they are hardly monolithic in their views. The party’s progressive wing, of which Stratton is a prominent member, has in recent years been most prominent in Springfield and in the city of Chicago. But centrist Democrats always have been a large part of the coalition, and they now are taking issue far more vocally with progressive governance as deficits mount, taxes rise and economic activity stagnates.
At a time when Democrats nationally still are struggling to come to terms with President Donald Trump 2.0, as well as losing ground in the Senate and failing to capture the House, Illinois Democrats badly need a choice between the left and centrist strains of their party in the upcoming Senate election. Party leaders’ machinations shouldn’t prevent voters from having a say in their party’s direction when opportunity arises, as it has now with Durbin’s exit.
Underwood, who’s won four elections in a competitive district, is a good example of the more pragmatic wing. Krishnamoorthi, too, has worked actively with Republicans on legislation in Congress. He met last year with this board alongside then-GOP Rep. Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin to solicit support for their bill to force a Chinese sale of TikTok.
Either or both of those candidates would be most welcome in the Senate race. Others too. There should be no efforts toward exclusion.
Since Trump’s election, Pritzker has argued Democrats have little need to move to the center in order to better compete with the GOP and instead has urged fellow Democrats to fight more aggressively against Trump’s agenda. He’s presumed to be teeing up a presidential run in 2028.
Putting his thumb on the scale of a Senate race in his state and propelling his progressive lieutenant governor to Senate victory would potentially be seen as evidence of Pritzker’s own progressive legitimacy in the presidential race.
But the governor should resist that surely tempting impulse and make clear that competition from all flavors of Democrats is good for the health of his party in his home state.
Editor’s note: This has been updated to reflect U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly entering the Senate race on Tuesday.
