For the first time in decades, Sen. Dick Durbin is not seeking reelection, and a slew of candidates are running to replace him.
There are some big-time figures in the race, including Reps. Robin Kelly and Raja Krishnamoorthi, Lieutenant Gov. Juliana Stratton and former Illinois Republican Party Chairman Don Tracy.
The field is now set for the primary election, with the vote set for March 17.
Here is a breakdown of who is running in each primary.
Democrats:
Steve Botsford Jr.
Botsford, a business owner, ran for Chicago City Council in 2023 and launched a Senate bid focused on affordability and counteracting the presidency of Donald Trump, according to his campaign biography. His focus will be on breaking up monopolies in the food industry, building more housing, raising the minimum wage and helping to expand affordable childcare.
Sean Brown
Brown, an attorney, is running on a platform that includes universal healthcare, massive immigration reforms, increasing access to mental healthcare, establishing a national firearm registry and providing free tuition to public universities and colleges, according to his website.
Awisi Bustos
Bustos has worked for multiple nonprofits, including as CEO of the Illinois Alliance of Boys & Girls Clubs. Her platform is focused on a massive overhaul of the education system and helping to prepare communities for a new age of technology and artificial intelligence, according to her website.
Jonathan Dean
Dean, an activist and attorney, says that Democrats need to focus on articulating their vision on big-picture issues, and that he will fight to lower living costs, raising the minimum wage, building new affordable housing, and advocating for Medicare for All, according to his campaign website.
Robin Kelly
A Congresswoman representing Illinois’ second district, Kelly has been a vocal opponent of the Trump administration’s stepped-up immigration enforcement tactics, including filing articles of impeachment against DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. Her campaign is also focused on taxing billionaires, capping child care costs, advocating for Medicare for All, and strengthening Social Security, according to her website.
Raja Krishnamoorthi
A Congressman representing Illinois’ eighth district, Krishnamoorthi is focused on two plans: the “Trump Accountability Plan,” which aims to rein in Trump’s administration and to push back on a variety of the president’s priorities. The other is the “Restore the American Dream Plan,” aimed at lowering costs and increasing the ability of residents to afford childcare and to save for retirement, according to his campaign website.
Dr. Bryan Maxwell
Maxwell holds a PhD in agricultural engineering, and his work has focused on sustainability and other environmental issues. His campaign platform focuses on Medicare for All, reducing America’s involvement in foreign conflict, increasing taxes on billionaires, and addressing climate change, according to his website.
Kevin Ryan
A retired U.S. Marine and a teacher, Ryan’s platform is aimed at combating financial inequality, implementing Medicare for All, reforming the nation’s immigration laws, a “New Deal for Rural America,” combating climate change and campaign finance reform, according to his website.
Juliana Stratton
Illinois’ lieutenant governor for eight years, Stratton’s policy priorities include Medicare for All legislation, raising the federal minimum wage to $25 an hour, passing and enforcing the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, restoring protections for reproductive healthcare, and passing common-sense gun safety laws, according to her website.
Christopher Swann
Swann, a nonprofit leader, says that his campaign is focused on issues pertaining to what he calls “dignity,” with platform planks on increasing access to food, affordable housing, quality healthcare, public safety and increased controls on corporations, according to his website.
Republicans:
Dr. R. Cary Capparelli
Capparelli is a professor of online geography and geo sciences at South Dakota State University and also is president of a global management and marketing company, according to his website. His campaign is focused on maintaining a strong U.S. military, to enhance border security, to make healthcare more affordable, and to push for enhanced public safety.
Casey Chlebek
Chlebek, who emigrated to the United States from Poland in the 1960s, has worked in the information technology field, including a lengthy stint at Northern Trust Bank, according to his website. His campaign platform focuses on reining in the national debt, slashing tax rates, overhauling the immigration system and increasing the availability of vocational training, among other planks.
Jeannie Evans
Evans is an attorney who said she was motivated to work toward improving public safety after the shooting death of her brother, according to her campaign biography. Evans’ campaign is focused on cutting taxes, increasing funding to law enforcement, investing in re-education and vocational training, and supporting American innovation through reductions in bureaucracy and investment.
Dr. Pamela Denise Long
Denise Long is an occupational therapist from Chicago who is running on a platform to overhaul the immigration system, cutting personal income taxes, supporting additional funding for law enforcement, and supporting the Trump administration’s “Make America Healthy Again” initiatives, according to her website.
Dr. Jimmy Lee Tillman II
Tillman, an author, historian and Heritage Foundation Academy Fellow, says his campaign will be focused on advancing the Trump administration agenda in immigration enforcement, slashing government spending and re-investing in American communities, according to his website.
Don Tracy
Tracy, an attorney by trade, has served as chairman of Illinois’ Republican Party and the Illinois Gaming Board during his career, according to his website. His campaign will be focused on securing the southern border, better representing Illinois residents who live outside of Chicago, and to lower the cost-of-living through new energy policies and streamlining regulation, according to his website.
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