Stratton talks Trump, filibuster, the far-left as early voting begins
[September 28, 2026]
By Sean Reed | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – With early voting in Illinois underway in most
jurisdictions, Lt. Gov. Julianna Stratton – the Democrat hopeful to
replace Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., in Congress – sat down with The Center
Square to discuss politics, policies and goals for the seat if she wins
the race.
Stratton, a former state representative, has served as Gov. J.B.
Pritzker’s second in command since taking office in 2019.
Her opponent is Don Tracy, former chair of the state Republican Party
and the Illinois Gaming Board under former Gov. Bruce Rauner.
Stratton promised to counter President Donald Trump's policies if
elected, saying voters from all political sides are worried about
corruption in the nation’s top office.
“I'm hearing from not just Democrats, but independents and Republicans
that they are very concerned with what's happening,” Stratton said. “I
always say this is the most corrupt president that we've had in history.
And people are worried about seeing a president who now has made about
$2 billion dollars since he's been in office this second term.”
Stratton said she’s also focused on serving all Illinoisans, not just on
partisan terms.
As for the filibuster, a procedure that is often used in the Senate to
block or delay votes on major legislation by allowing unlimited debate
that requires a supermajority vote to conclude, Stratton said she wants
to see Democrats eliminate it if they take power in the coming election.
“I think about all of the progress that has been stalled and halted
because of the filibuster,” Stratton said. “What about reproductive
freedom? And gun violence, you know, like really pushing for a federal
assault weapons ban. There's so many issues that we've been able to
tackle here in Illinois and get done that has been held up.”
She said while she’s supportive of cutting away at waste and fraud
within federal spending, it needs to be done more carefully, again
noting the current president and Congress have pushed through less
careful measures.
“I've always said, of course, if there are any specific instances of
fraud, we certainly should root it out,” Stratton said. “But that's not
what's happening here. This is a president that just wants to enrich
himself and a Congress that is supporting him and doing that. And that's
not what the people of Illinois are looking for.”
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Illinois Lt. Gov. and U.S. Senate candidate Julianna Stratton speaks
with supporters at the Illinois State Fair during Governor's Day in
Springfield, Aug. 19, 2026. Photo: Sean Reed / The Center Square
Asked her stance on the Democratic Socialist wing of the party, and
more radical figures influencing politics today like online
socialist commentator Hasan Piker, Stratton said she doesn’t hear
Illinoisans worried either way about the progressive wing.
“I certainly don't agree with everything that [Piker] has said and I
found some of the things he said quite offensive, but I would
disagree with the categorization that a lot of people are talking
about it,” Stratton said. “What I hear people talking about is how
are you going to make my life more affordable? How are you going to
make sure we protect our democracy and our rights?”
In a recent New York Times-Siena poll conducted in battleground
states for this November, respondents overwhelmingly said they
didn’t know who Piker was, despite him campaigning for candidates in
many of the states polled and appearing in attack ads in places like
Michigan.
Stratton’s opponent has been critical of her not accepting any
debate invitations from various organizations and media outlets, but
Stratton has since agreed to appear for a televised debate on
Chicago’s WTTW Channel 11 on Oct. 20.
Tracy told The Center Square his Democratic opponent is afraid of
engaging with him because it’ll draw attention to her platform of
“open borders, open jails and open checkbooks.”
Early voting began Thursday in most jurisdictions, excluding
Chicago, which will open early in-person voting Oct. 1.
Greg Bishop contributed to this story
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