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Ongoing story / Dick Durbin

The 2026 Illinois Senate race: Juliana Stratton vs. Don Tracy

Overview · reviewed November 5, 2026

Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, a Democrat, won Illinois's 2026 Senate race on November 3, defeating Republican Don Tracy to succeed Dick Durbin, the Senate's No. 2 Democrat, who retired after more than four decades representing the state in Congress.[1][2]

Read the timeline

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Coverage over time

Share of tracked outlets · weekly (UTC)

Week of 2025-04-21 (UTC): 15%, 31 of 206 tracked outlets (6 left, 17 center, 8 right)Week of 2025-04-28 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-05-05 (UTC): 3%, 6 of 201 tracked outlets (2 left, 2 center, 2 right)Week of 2025-05-12 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-05-19 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-05-26 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-06-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-06-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-06-16 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-06-23 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-06-30 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-07-07 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-07-14 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-07-21 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-07-28 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-08-04 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-08-11 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-08-18 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-08-25 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-01 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-08 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-15 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-22 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-29 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-06 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-13 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-20 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-27 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-03 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-10 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-17 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-24 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-01 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-08 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-15 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-22 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-29 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-05 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-12 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-19 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-26 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-16 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-23 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-16 (UTC): 7%, 12 of 178 tracked outlets (4 left, 7 center, 1 right)Week of 2026-03-23 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-30 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-06 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-13 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-20 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-27 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-04 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-11 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-18 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-25 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-01 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-08 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-15 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-22 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-29 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-06 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-13 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-20 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-27 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-03 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-10 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-17 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-24 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-31 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-07 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-14 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-21 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-28 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-05 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-12 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-19 (UTC): 1%, 4 of 479 tracked outlets (2 left, 2 center, 0 right)Week of 2026-10-26 (UTC): under 1%, 2 of 473 tracked outlets (0 left, 1 center, 1 right)Week of 2026-11-02 (UTC): 3%, 14 of 471 tracked outlets (4 left, 8 center, 2 right)Week of 2026-11-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outlets, so far

LeftCenterRightLighter bar: this week so far

Each bar is the share of the outlets on our Left / Center / Right rating scale that we tracked publishing that week which carried reporting on this story, split by the outlets' ratings. We track more outlets now than in the archive, so a share keeps earlier and later weeks comparable. An outlet counts once a week however much it published, and outlets in one ownership or syndication group count as one on each side they appear on. A rating describes the outlet, not the report. A gap means no such reports were collected that week, not that nothing was reported anywhere. Weeks run Monday to Sunday in UTC, so a report published on a Sunday evening in US Eastern time counts in the next week. 1 more outlet off the scale (not rated, or outside the left-right graphs) also reported; they are not in this chart. See them.

Weekly counts, outlets and reports (6 weeks with coverage)
Outlets on the rating scale that carried this story each week, of the outlets tracked that week, newest first
Week of (UTC)LeftCenterRightOf trackedShareReceipts
Nov 2, 202648214 of 4713%
Oct 26, 20260112 of 473under 1%
Oct 19, 20262204 of 4791%
Mar 16, 202647112 of 1787%
May 5, 20252226 of 2013%
Apr 21, 2025617831 of 20615%

Latest coverage

The newest reporting in this story's record.

  1. Nov 1, 2026 · first reported · Headline from ABC 7 Chicago

    Illinois to become 1st state to have 2 women of color in US Senate at same time after Stratton's win

Background

Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois announced in April 2025 that he would not seek a sixth term.[2] Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton launched her campaign to succeed him the next day,[3] and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi joined the Democratic field in May with significant fundraising behind him.[4] In the March 2026 primary, Stratton defeated Krishnamoorthi and Rep. Robin Kelly. She said she would strongly oppose the Trump administration and would not vote for any of its appointees.[5] In their only face-to-face meeting of the campaign, in October, Stratton vowed to serve as a check on President Donald Trump, while Tracy largely defended his positions.[6]

Supporting stories (6)
  1. Juliana Stratton wins U.S. Senate spot in Illinois
  2. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the Senate’s No. 2 Democrat, won’t seek reelection to a sixth term in 2026
  3. Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton launches U.S. Senate campaign to replace Durbin
  4. Krishnamoorthi joins Illinois Senate race
  5. Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton wins Democratic Senate primary in Illinois
  6. Juliana Stratton and Don Tracy clash over economy and foreign policy in Senate debate

The full record

Each date is when an update was first reported.

All 6 recorded updates

November 2026

  1. Juliana Stratton wins U.S. Senate spot in IllinoisHeadline from Our Quad Cities · 15 outlets

October 2026

  1. Juliana Stratton and Don Tracy clash over economy and foreign policy in Senate debateHeadline from MyStateline · 4 outlets

March 2026

  1. Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton wins Democratic Senate primary in IllinoisHeadline from NBC News · 13 outlets

May 2025

  1. Krishnamoorthi joins Illinois Senate raceHeadline from Roll Call · 6 outlets

April 2025

  1. Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton launches U.S. Senate campaign to replace DurbinHeadline from Fox32 Chicago · 5 outlets
  2. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the Senate’s No. 2 Democrat, won’t seek reelection to a sixth term in 2026Headline from The Boston Globe · 31 outlets

Coverage & sources

Read the reports, see how much was collected over time, or compare outlets by political leaning.

Coverage & sources →