Don Tracy
Illinois hasn't elected a Republican senator since Mark Kirk's narrow victory in 2010, making Tracy's path to Washington a steep climb.

Don Tracy, a 75-year-old Springfield attorney and the oldest of 12 children, won the Republican primary for the US Senate in Illinois on Tuesday night. He will face Democratic Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton in November in a race he is widely expected to lose.

Tracy is arguably the least-known statewide primary winner in America tonight. An Emerson College poll in January found that 84% of Republican primary voters were undecided. However, Tracy pulled through on the strength of party endorsements and a $2.1 million (£1.6 million) fundraising haul that dwarfed his rivals.

A Lincoln Connection and a Downstate Pitch

Tracy is senior counsel at Brown, Hay and Stephens, the oldest law firm in Illinois, where Abraham Lincoln once practised for four years. He previously ran a separate firm in Springfield with his sister-in-law, State Senator Jil Tracy.

Born in Urbana and raised in Mount Sterling in western Illinois, Tracy built his campaign pitch around geography. Senator Dick Durbin's retirement after nearly 30 years means Illinois is losing its only statewide officeholder not from Chicago or Cook County. Tracy has argued that the state's other 101 counties have no statewide representation and that all his Democratic opponents are from Cook County.

'Illinois working families need someone who will fight for them in Washington,' Tracy said when he launched his campaign last August.

From Party Chair to Senate Nominee

Tracy served as chairman of the Illinois Republican Party from 2021 to 2024 and chaired the state Gaming Board from 2015 to 2019 under former Governor Bruce Rauner. He also served as president of the Abraham Lincoln Association.

Among his endorsers is former US Senator Mark Kirk, the last Republican to win a Senate seat in the state in 2010. Kirk lost to Tammy Duckworth six years later and no Republican has come close since. Former Vice President Kamala Harris carried Illinois by 11 percentage points in 2024, and the Cook Political Report rates the seat 'Solid Democratic.'

Stratton's Win Tests Pritzker's Political Muscle

On the Democratic side, Stratton defeated US Representatives Raja Krishnamoorthi and Robin Kelly in a 10-candidate primary. Stratton led with roughly 40% of the vote to Krishnamoorthi's 33.2%.

Her win was a direct test of Governor JB Pritzker's influence. Pritzker endorsed Stratton the same day she announced her candidacy and funnelled $5 million (£3.7 million) into Illinois Future political action committee (PAC), which spent $14.9 million (£11.1 million) on ads boosting her campaign and attacking Krishnamoorthi.

For Pritzker, a billionaire and possible 2028 presidential contender, the result is proof that his endorsement can move voters.

Krishnamoorthi spent roughly $29 million (£21.6 million) on ads and still fell short. Crypto-backed super PAC Fairshake spent more than $8 million (£6 million) in the race targeting Stratton, according to ad-tracking firm AdImpact.

'We showed what's possible when you listen to the people,' Stratton told supporters in Chicago.

What Comes Next

Tracy faces a steep climb in one of the most reliably Democratic states in the country. The seat will almost certainly go to Stratton in November, and if she wins, she would become just the sixth Black woman to serve in the US Senate.

But the night was about more than one seat. Pritzker's national profile now has a concrete win behind it, and the fight over outside spending in Democratic primaries is only getting louder. The seat Durbin held for three decades is about to change hands.

For Tracy, the question isn't whether he can win in November. It's whether a 75-year-old attorney from Springfield can force Illinois Republicans to compete for a Senate seat the party hasn't won in 16 years.

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