A Democrat candidate reiterated her call to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Tuesday shortly after winning her party’s primary for a United States Senate seat in Illinois.
Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton won the Democratic nomination to replace outgoing Sen. Dick Durbin, winning 40% of the vote and defeating Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi and Robin Kelly. In her victory speech, Stratton doubled down on the far-left priorities she emphasized during the campaign.
“We will fight for Medicare for all. We will fight to abolish ICE. We’ll fight for a real living wage, not just the bare minimum,” Stratton said. “We’ll fight to defend our rights and claw our democracy back from the brink.”
Stratton openly campaigned on abolishing ICE, framing her bid as a direct challenge to President Donald Trump.
“Courage inspired me to run. Courage powered this campaign and courage will bring this fight straight to Donald Trump’s door,” she said on Tuesday.
During the primary, Stratton ran ads emphasizing her opposition to Trump, including one spot featuring supporters saying, “F*ck Trump, vote Juliana.”
“They said it, not me,” Stratton said in the ad. “I’m not scared of a wannabe dictator. I’m running for Senate to stand up to Donald Trump. I’ll abolish ICE and hold Trump accountable for the crimes he committed.”
Illinois Democrat Gov. JB Pritzker backed Stratton and contributed $5 million to a political action committee supporting her campaign. Pritzker said Tuesday that electing Stratton was “personal” for him.
Stratton will face GOP nominee Don Tracy, the former chair of the Illinois Republican Party. Tracy has said that the Democratic Party has become out of step with voters in the state by pushing “open border” policies and abolishing ICE.
“It’s especially important, I would suggest, for the Republican side, then the Democrat side, because it’s an opportunity to make Illinois a two-party state again,” Tracy told WTAX News, noting that Democrats currently hold all eight statewide offices.
Illinois has leaned reliably Democratic in recent elections. Former Vice President Kamala Harris won the state by about 11 points in the 2024 presidential race.
