Kelly leans on experience in Illinois’ Democratic Senate primary

The Democratic primary for Illinois’ open U.S. Senate seat features three of the state’s most notable Democrats, but U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly isn’t worried big spending or endorsements for her opponents will drown out her voice.

“I’m used to tough races and really I’ve been [motivated] by the people and that’s what it really comes down to,” Kelly told Capitol News Illinois. “I get out there, I grind, I meet everybody I can, and when I am in my position, again, I do the work.”

Kelly was the second Democrat to announce her intentions to replace retiring Sen. Dick Durbin in the 2026 election. She entered the race in early May about two weeks after Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton announced her candidacy that quickly came with endorsements from Gov. JB Pritzker and other Illinois Democrats.

U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi entered the race shortly after Kelly and brought with him more than $21 million in campaign funds to use as of the July fundraising report – almost 10 times the $2.2 million Kelly has on hand.

Stratton had raised about $1 million but had about $666,000 on hand as of the end of June. Pritzker hasn’t put his full financial might behind Stratton yet, which could boost her fundraising totals and put Kelly up against more financial firepower. Kelly said she believes she can compete regardless of the financial landscape of the primary race.

“I would not have gotten into the race if I didn’t think I would have the resources to win,” Kelly said. “And I’m looking at what I’m doing and what I need to do – yeah they could spend more money, I know that’s a possibility, but again, my races have always been powered by the people.”

She cited recent examples of races around the country where the winning candidate didn’t raise or spend the most money. Kelly previously told voters at an event in Peoria earlier this month that she wants to get money out of campaigns but said in an interview that would have to be done through the legislative process.

Leaning on experience

Kelly, of Matteson, said her experience at a variety of levels of government sets her apart from her opponents. She also argued that her ability to pass legislation is something voters want.

As an elected official, Kelly has represented Illinois’ 2nd Congressional District since 2013 after winning a crowded special election to succeed former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., who resigned from Congress and later went to prison after pleading guilty to fraud charges. Jackson is now reported to be interested in running again for Kelly’s open seat.

Before serving in Congress, Kelly served two terms in the Illinois House before becoming chief of staff to then-Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias in the late 2000s. In 2010, she mounted an unsuccessful campaign to be Giannoulias’ successor, coming up short to Republican Dan Rutherford. After the failed 2010 campaign, Kelly became a top staffer for Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle until she was elected to Congress in the 2013 special election.

Kelly sought to elevate her stature in the Democratic Party of Illinois in 2021 after Mike Madigan resigned his role as party chair. Kelly won an internal party vote for the chairmanship over Chicago Alderman Michelle Harris, who was backed by Pritzker. But the following year, Pritzker-backed Rep. Lisa Hernandez, D-Cicero, successfully ousted Kelly.

“The people in the party, they know me, they know the work that I’ve done,” Kelly previously told Capitol News Illinois following an event in Peoria. “Despite what happened, I’ve still been an effective leader.”

Kelly pointed to her legislative experience, saying “I get things done.”

Gun violence prevention

Preventing gun violence has been one of Kelly’s top priorities in Congress. She earned national headlines in 2016 when she led a sit-in in the U.S. House alongside late Rep. John Lewis, D-Georgia, and Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Massachusetts, to protest the lack of gun restrictions coming out of the Republican-controlled House. Kelly said one of her goals by staging the sit-in was to draw attention to individual lives lost to gun violence beyond headline-grabbing mass shootings.

Nine years after that protest, Kelly believes Democrats have moved the needle of public opinion on gun violence.

“People are hearing the message,” said Kelly, the vice chair of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force. “Yes, gun violence might happen more in some places. But as you see, bullets don’t know zip codes.”

She pointed to the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, a 2022 law designed to quell gun violence through stronger background checks and more mental health services.

“I think people are paying attention,” Kelly said. “We just have to make sure it’s not normalized.”

Kelly does not believe her strong stance on guns would be a deterrent for voters in a statewide election, partly because she already represents one of the most geographically diverse congressional districts in the state. Her district stretches from Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood through a narrow stretch of the city along Lake Michigan before picking up the bulk of the district’s population in south suburban Cook and Will counties. From there, the district stretches deep into central Illinois to Danville and Pontiac.

Kelly said she wouldn’t own a gun herself but understands the various reasons why people have one.

“It’s about gun safety. It’s not about taking your gun away,” she said.

Countering Trump

The primary race between the three high-profile Democrats has remained cordial as they have focused their political attacks on Republicans rather than each other. Each has been jockeying to set themselves up as the most vocal critic of the Trump administration.

Democrats will have to work to undo much of Trump’s accomplishments to address voters’ economic concerns if the party takes control of Congress, Kelly said.

“We will have to spend some time changing what’s already been put into law,” Kelly said.

While Trump sought to capitalize on economic concerns during last year’s election, Kelly said she believes he has lost high ground on the issue.

“He fooled the people since he said he was going to bring down prices on Day 1 while you see in the big, ugly bill that passed he kind of went the opposite way: taking away people’s health care; education is at stake, all those things,” she 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.