Illinois Dems say state should be blueprint in national fight against Trump

SPRINGFIELD – Democrats across the country are searching for a winning message in the 2026 elections, but Illinois Democrats say they’re already found one.

With a video montage showcasing the state’s Democratic elected officials as Star Wars heroes fighting President Donald Trump – portrayed as Darth Vader – party leaders unofficially kicked off the 2026 campaign. That was part of an annual Democratic County Chairs’ Association breakfast in Springfield attended by more than 2,000 people before Gov. JB Pritzker held the governor’s traditional campaign rally at the Illinois State Fair.

“Illinois Democrats shook off the rust of old, poll-tested ideas and you governed instead with a renewed dedications to the needs and the wants of working families,” Pritzker told the room full of county-level Democrats.

The governor brought the stump speech he’s used on the national campaign trail and told the gathering of Illinois Democrats to stop analyzing why Republicans and Trump were victorious in 2024. Pritzker argued Illinois Democrats have already successfully implemented a message that resonates with voters.

“Ours is a story that doesn’t have a cult telling us what to believe,” Pritzker said.

While Illinois Democrats have been undefeated in statewide elections since 2018 when Pritzker and a slate of Democrats coasted to power amid Trump’s unpopularity in that year’s midterm election, the party has struggled at the national level. A Wall Street Journal poll in July found only 33% of voters across the country have a favorable view of the Democratic Party – the lowest in 35 years.

Pritzker, who has traveled the country and logged numerous appearances on national TV shows this year imploring his party to talk more about economic issues, isn’t concerned about failing to resonate with voters in Illinois.

“We’re not struggling to come up with a unified message, folks. Democrats are for working families,” he told reporters.

Pritzker is seeking a rare third term as he mulls running for president in 2028. Democratic Party of Illinois Chair Lisa Hernandez said the governor has created the right road map for her party in 2026.

“He’s been certainly a person that has moved this state in the direction where people do feel that there’s somebody speaking on their behalf,” Hernandez told Capitol News Illinois.

Senate race

While Pritzker seeks a third term, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin is not running for reelection, opening up his seat for the first time in 30 years. The three most high-profile candidates vying to replace him appeared at the State Fair Wednesday to explain why they deserve to replace the second-highest-ranking Democrat in the U.S. Senate.

“I wouldn’t even begin to pretend like I could somehow replace him, but I aspire to build on his legacy of great progress,” U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi told reporters.

U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly said she’s focused on being herself and hopes voters will look at her record representing a district that stretches from Chicago’s South Side to rural central Illinois.

Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton touted her current experience as a statewide elected official.

“When I’m going around the state, what people are saying is they are ready for new voices, new blood, new energy in Washington, D.C. – new ideas – and that the status quo right now simply is not working,” Stratton told reporters.

While the three candidates agree on many issues, Stratton has injected contention into the race by pledging not to take money from corporate political action committees.

“I want to make sure that I’m centering the voices of Illinois families and not corporate special interests,” Stratton said.

Stratton raised $1 million in the first quarter of her campaign as of the end of June, but the balance is dwarfed by the $22 million in Krishnamoorthi’s campaign fund and $2 million in Kelly’s. Both Kelly and Krishnamoorthi have received contributions from corporations.

“She’s also hoping for a super PAC to come to her rescue and so it’s very rich for her to accuse others of somehow being beholden to other interests,” Krishnamoorthi said of Stratton.

Stratton launched a federal political action committee of her own in January, which raised just short of $400,000 in the first six months of the year, according to federal records. Pritzker has endorsed his lieutenant governor and has a political action committee that could allow him to financially support Stratton’s campaign further.

Kelly is also working to compete with Krishnamoorthi’s fundraising power.

“I would not have gotten into this race if I didn’t think I had the resources I needed to win,” Kelly said. “I’m giving up a seat I probably could’ve held a long time.”

Redistricting hopes

Pritzker has positioned himself at the center of a national fight over mid-decade redistricting in Texas and has said all options are on the table for Illinois to respond. Recently, however, he has downplayed the likelihood of Illinois lawmakers further gerrymandering a congressional map where 14 of 17 districts already favor Democrats.

Hernandez, who in her capacity as a state lawmaker led the 2021 remap process for Illinois House Democrats, said the process she followed in 2021 was the “right way.”

Asked if she would support a national independent redistricting commission like Pritzker has said he favors, Hernandez said “we can continue talking about that, but for right now, I’m content how we handled things.”

Kelly said she would normally be wary of political blowback for Democrats if they tried to counter Texas Republicans, who hope to add five more Republican-leaning congressional seats in their state.

“We have to fight fire with fire,” Kelly said. “We have to take the House back. There are despicable things and we cannot continue that.”

Krishnamoorthi said he favors banning mid-decade redistricting.

“My vision is someday hopefully we’ll have fair maps across the board, across all states, so that everybody will be in parity,” he said.

House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, told reporters there hasn’t been any discussion about redrawing the lines in Illinois.

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.