Illinois Democrats focused on Trump as they seek third sweep of
statewide races
[August 20, 2026]
By Ben Szalinski and Brenden Moore
SPRINGFIELD — Though hundreds of Republican candidates will appear on
the ballot in Illinois in November, the state’s Democrats are focused on
a common opponent: President Donald Trump.
The party’s leaders gathered in Springfield on Wednesday for their
annual Democrat Day at the Illinois State Fair and at a brunch with
county party leaders where they attempted to draw contrasts between
themselves and Republicans. Amid their various names for the country’s
leader — such as the “Cheeto president” whose agenda is a “river of
sewage” — Democrats patted themselves on the back as a model of
governing success.
While the sense of urgency in confronting Trump and national Republicans
was unmistakable, there was little evidence Democrats fear being
dislodged as the state’s dominant party. After a March primary election
that featured several high-profile contests, the statewide general
election campaign has largely been a sleepy affair. This was reflected
in the focus of the speeches Democrats delivered to party faithful.
“We are only 19 months into Donald Trump’s term and what he and his MAGA
Republicans are doing to this nation is disgraceful,” Gov. JB Pritzker
said.
Pritzker and running mate Christian Mitchell invoked the names of their
Republican opponents, Darren Bailey and Aaron Del Mar, respectively,
only a handful of times. Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, the Democratic
nominee for U.S. Senate, didn’t utter her GOP opponent Don Tracy’s name
once. And none of the other statewide Democratic elected officials
mentioned the names of the little-known Republicans running against
them.
It’s a reflection of the sheer dominance Democrats have built in
Illinois, which Sen. Tammy Duckworth referred to as the “rebar” in the
Midwestern blue wall. The party holds all statewide offices,
supermajorities in the state legislature and 14 of 17 congressional
seats.
And if anyone needed a reminder of the advantage Democrats have,
Pritzker last week cut a $65 million check to his campaign fund, which
will support his bid for a third term and help Democrats up and down the
ticket. Bailey, who will rally with Republicans at the fairgrounds on
Thursday, had just $127,990 in the bank at the end of June and has
reported just $115,000 in contributions since.
Though Pritzker, speaking to reporters after the rally at the
fairgrounds, suggested state Democrats wouldn’t be complacent despite
the party having swept statewide offices in both 2018 and 2022.
“We’re fighting it out in every district, so it’s not a one-party
state,” Pritzker said. “We got battles going on toward the general
election, and we’ll see who wins. But I’m very proud of the fact that
Democrats actually represent the working people of the state and are
standing up for their rights and making sure that we’re putting money in
their pockets and lowering costs for them.”
‘Don’t toy with Illinois’
Democrats running for statewide office couldn’t wait to share with
supporters what they’ve done to fight Trump during their tenure.
Attorney General Kwame Raoul touted his office’s legal tussles with the
Trump administration, including its successful efforts to beat back the
president’s attempt to deploy the National Guard to the streets of
Chicago.
“Some may say ‘Don’t mess with Texas,’ but we went all the way to the
Supreme Court to tell Donald Trump, ‘Don’t toy with Illinois,'” Raoul
said.
Minutes later, Duckworth told Raoul that “if you want to put that on a
T-shirt and say ‘Don’t f—ing toy with Illinois,’ I’ll buy a dozen of
them.” It was one of two expletives Illinois’ soon-to-be senior senator
deployed.
Though he’s unpopular in the state, Trump had his best performance in
Illinois of his three campaigns in 2024. While he didn’t substantially
receive more votes, many Democratic voters appeared to skip over Kamala
Harris on the ballot. Democratic Party Chair Lisa Hernandez said her
party isn’t taking the state’s dark blue leanings for granted.
“We’re doing all we can to bring back the trust of the vote, based on
what we saw in the last election,” Hernandez told Capitol News Illinois.
With Trump the focal point of Democratic campaigns, Pritzker argued
there’s no daylight between the president and Bailey, who Trump endorsed
four years ago but hasn’t so far this year.
“This is the government that Darren Bailey rooted for,” Pritzker said.
“This is the vision that he and his Illinois Republicans want to impose
on working families across Illinois. I think it’s instructive for us to
put side-by-side two visions of Illinois.”
Pritzker got high praise from one prominent national politician on
Wednesday: Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who keynoted
the breakfast.
“JB Pritzker stood up and delivered a message directly to Donald Trump,”
Warren said. “He said, ‘You come for my people, you come through me.’
And I thought that is leadership. JB Pritzker was showing some old
school loyalty to the people of Illinois and showing that Democrats, or
at least some Democrats, don’t back down from bullies.”
Fight over affordability
Democrats argued Trump’s Republican Party has only made life worse for
Americans through “wars of choice” that have driven up gas and grocery
prices.
“At a time when Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans and his entire freak
show are demonstrating how the government can be distorted to satisfy
the greed of the wealthy and the greed of Donald Trump’s own pockets,
while robbing working families blind, Illinois Democrats are showing
what it means to truly fight for the people,” Pritzker told supporters
at the fair.
But as Democrats bashed Trump for rising prices, the Illinois Tollway on
Wednesday morning approved a 57% increase on cars and 30% on trucks
beginning next year. It will increase by inflation every two years after
that without further public hearings or board votes. The rate increase
will fund a capital program for the Tollway and was permitted by the
transit reform bill lawmakers approved last year.
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Gov. JB Pritzker, right, is joined by his running mate Christian
Mitchell on stage at the Illinois Democratic County Chairs’
Association brunch in Springfield on Aug. 19, 2026. (Capitol News
Illinois photo by Jerry Nowicki)
“We want to make sure that our roads are pothole-free, that we’re making
sure to build more so that we can build our economy across the state of
Illinois,” Pritzker told reporters.
Bailey has suggested eliminating tolls, but Pritzker said that would
only cause more downstate communities to foot the bill for Chicago area
expressways. More broadly, Bailey has tried to say Pritzker’s criticism
of Trump on cost-of-living issues rings hollow as Illinois has
implemented dozens of new taxes during his governorship.
“We feel great about our record and that shows that we are deeply
focused on the people of Illinois and will continue to be through Nov.
3,” Mitchell told Capitol News Illinois.
Ethics issues
Republicans are hoping to derail Democrats’ electoral hopes by focusing
on a series of alleged ethical lapses unearthed this summer.
Rep. Carol Ammons, D-Urbana, has pleaded not guilty to federal charges
that she orchestrated a scheme to receive illegal cash kickbacks from
her own campaign account and from local nonprofits for which she helped
secure state grant funding.
House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, didn’t attend any of
the Democrat Day festivities on Wednesday.
He is under scrutiny for his handling of sexual harassment allegations
against disgraced ex-Rep. Harry Benton, D-Plainfield, who resigned in
July after a Legislative Inspector General report found he engaged in “a
pattern and practice of inappropriate sexual conduct” that began soon
after he took office in 2023.
Welch’s office knew about an allegation against Benton but did not
address it for several months. Welch then subsequently spent $1.4
million in support of Benton’s reelection in 2024.
A Chicago Tribune report also highlighted Welch’s behavior on social
media, which included reacting to a former staffer’s Instagram photos
with heart eyes and inviting her to a bar through an encrypted messaging
app.
As Welch made the rounds to a series of fundraisers and receptions in
downtown Springfield on Tuesday, mobile billboards circled the block
airing an Illinois House Republican message highlighting posts Welch has
liked on social media. Other billboards tied newly appointed Rep.
Jessica Dixon Heitman, D-Plainfield, and Rep. Katie Stuart,
D-Edwardsville, both in relatively competitive districts, to Welch.
Hernandez acknowledged the incidents could undermine trust with voters.
“I believe that the speaker is doing all he can and I think he is
putting himself out there and doing what he (can) to put in place what
we have learned based on the current incidents that we have to do
better,” she said.
But other Democrats dismissed the notion that they will be punished at
the ballot box for the ethical lapses.
“I mean, Republicans are always going to find something to run on where
they are going after individual candidates for, you know, reasons that
are outside of their control,” said Rep. Margaret Croke, D-Chicago, the
party’s nominee for comptroller, referring to the Heitman and Stuart
billboards. “But no, I think that we just have to continue to run on the
things that people are hearing about right now: affordability,
healthcare, education. And if we continue that message, we’ll be
successful in November.”
Mitchell echoed those sentiments.
“Obviously those ethics issues should be dealt with,” Mitchell, a former
representative, said. “Sounds like the House is trying to do that. We
want to focus on the issues facing the voters in November, and when we
do that, I think we’ll win.”
Looking ahead
With Democrats heavily favored in all statewide contests, many are
already looking ahead to the Chicago mayoral election next February.
Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias and Comptroller Susana Mendoza are
among several declared candidates challenging incumbent Mayor Brandon
Johnson.
Mendoza ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2019. She received criticism
that year for seemingly having her eye on the Chicago City Hall while
running for reelection as comptroller in 2018. This time, Mendoza opted
against seeking reelection to her statewide office to focus on the
mayor’s race.
Giannoulias, on the other hand, is running for reelection and mayor
simultaneously, for which Mendoza took a not-so-subtle jab, saying that
voters “deserve a candidate who’s going to be all in the position that
they’re asking you to support them for.”
Giannoulias told reporters at the fairgrounds that he didn’t hear
Mendoza’s remark, adding that his current role is “the best job in
government” but that he wants to be “part of the solution” to the issues
plaguing the state’s largest city.
“And as I’ve said, when you’re applying for a job, when you’re
interviewing for a job, which is what you do when you run for mayor, you
don’t quit the job you’re in while you’re interviewing for the next
one,” Giannoulias said.
Capitol News Illinois is
a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government
coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily
by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
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