The News
Big-spending PACs got mixed results in Illinois’ Democratic primaries, as Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton won the nomination for Senate, while progressive critics of Israel, AI, and crypto won nominations for two Chicago-area House seats. Stratton’s win over Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi was a triumph for Gov. JB Pritzker, who put millions of dollars into her super PAC; the pro-crypto Fairshake PAC spent late to help Krishnamoorthi.
Pro-Israel and pro-AI PACs helped former Rep. Melissa Bean win a comeback bid for Krishnamoorthi’s open seat, and pushed Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller past ex-Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. in another open seat. But candidates backed by one or all those interests lost to Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss in Chicago’s northern suburbs and to state Rep. La Shawn Ford in the Loop.
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David’s view
Sometimes elections don’t break into clean narrative chunks for reporters, and that’s OK. Big money didn’t sweep the Illinois primaries. Neither did progressives.
On Chicago’s south side and in its southern suburbs, Miller benefited tremendously from getting to run against Jackson, whom voters hadn’t forgiven for a 2013 campaign finance conviction. In the northern suburbs, the power trio of AIPAC, crypto, and AI PACs reintroduced Bean her as a progressive “architect of Obamacare” (she had famously been reluctant to support it) as further-left candidates split the vote.
In the other marquee races, AIPAC lost and Pritzker won. His money was decisive in rescuing Stratton, a weak fundraiser who went on the air months after Krishnamoorthi; he starred in her most memorable ad and the PAC let Stratton hammer her opponent over his vote to thank ICE agents last year.
In the very liberal 9th district, AIPAC’s PACs backed state Sen. Lauren Fine over Biss and other Israel critics. Biss turned that against Fine, badly damaging her by pointing out that she took money from Trump donors (AIPAC is now seen by some Democrats as a right-wing organization). The race for the open 7th district was closer, but Ford prevailed narrowly after an AIPAC spend for his top rival also backfired.