By Arlette Saenz, Steve Contorno
29分钟前
发布于 2026年3月16日，美国东部时间上午7:00
Rep. Robin Kelly, left, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, center, and Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, candidates for the US Senate, debate in Chicago on February 19.
Nam Y. Huh/AP
芝加哥—
伊利诺伊州参议员迪克·德宾（Dick Durbin）在近30年任期后退休，引发了一场耗资巨大的三党民主党初选。这场初选展示了该党在如何应对唐纳德·特朗普总统的移民镇压行动上的分歧，并将亲加密货币势力引入了影响中期选举走向的进程。这场竞争也成为对州长JB·普里茨克（JB Pritzker）在该州政治影响力的一次考验，因为他正觊觎2028年的总统大选。
无论谁在周二赢得民主党提名，都将在11月成为81岁的德宾继任者的绝对热门，而该州已有12年没有共和党人在全州范围内获胜。
候选人阵容包括经验丰富的伊利诺伊州政客——美国众议员罗宾·凯利（Robin Kelly）、拉贾·克里希纳穆尔蒂（Raja Krishnamoorthi）和副州长朱莉安娜·斯特拉顿（Juliana Stratton）。他们每个人都将在取代参议院第二号民主党人德宾时带来一定程度的代际变化。
继本月早些时候在得克萨斯州的一场对决之后，伊利诺伊州的这场竞逐成为中期选举日历初期民主党阵营中的第二场激烈初选，为该党在国会及其他领域重新掌权的道路提供了更多线索。民主党方面的这场竞争吸引的资金甚至超过了孤星州（得克萨斯州）的那场。
对于已动用其政治和财务影响力支持斯特拉顿的普里茨克而言，这场竞选有望成为他在本州实力的试金石，因为他开始展望即将到来的2028年全国性竞选。
普里茨克在竞选中的介入导致民主党内部出现一些紧张。领导有影响力的国会黑人核心小组（Congressional Black Caucus）并支持凯利的纽约众议员伊维特·克拉克（Yvette Clarke）指责普里茨克试图“操纵天平”以偏向斯特拉顿。
“现任州长不应该干预竞选。坦率地说，他在这次竞选中的行为不会很快被我们任何人忘记，”克拉克在一份声明中表示。
在克拉克发表批评言论后的新闻发布会上，普里茨克谈到斯特拉顿时说：“我希望有一位黑人女性代表我们进入美国参议院。我只想要最优秀的人，而她恰好是一位黑人女性。”
“顺便说一句，我想我多年来已经证明，我站在全州有色人种社区一边，也支持竞选公职的候选人，”他补充道。
如果凯利或斯特拉顿在11月获胜，这将标志着伊利诺伊州选民第二次选出黑人女性代表他们进入美国参议院。前伊利诺伊州参议员卡罗尔·莫斯利·布朗（Carol Moseley Braun）在1992年成为有史以来第一位当选参议员的黑人女性。德宾在此次竞选中保持中立，而该州的另一位参议员——民主党人塔米·达克沃斯（Tammy Duckworth）则支持斯特拉顿。
出生于新德里并随家人在婴儿时期移民到美国的克里希纳穆尔蒂，将成为该州首位印度裔美国参议员。
US Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi walks in the St. Patrick’s Day parade on March 14 in Chicago.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
外部资金涌入
这场竞选中公开民调很少，但52岁的克里希纳穆尔蒂拥有远超对手的巨大财务优势，他的支出推动了这场出人意料的昂贵竞选。
“支出水平简直荒谬可笑，”该州资深政治活动家彼得·贾恩格雷科（Peter Giangreco）表示，他并未为任何参议院候选人工作。
根据联邦选举委员会（FEC）的申报文件，克里希纳穆尔蒂已为其竞选筹集超过3000万美元，其中包括从其众议院竞选账户转移的2000万美元。美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）对AdImpact数据的分析显示，他的竞选活动占参议院初选中广告支出的约一半——2890万美元，而总广告支出超过5600万美元。
60岁的斯特拉顿筹集了超过400万美元，而69岁的凯利带来了超过300万美元——尽管其中200万美元来自她的众议院竞选账户。她们各自的竞选活动在广告上花费了约100万美元。
外部团体也向这场竞赛投入了数百万美元。“伊利诺伊未来行动委员会”（Illinois Future PAC）已花费1400万美元支持斯特拉顿并批评克里希纳穆尔蒂。亿万富翁、凯悦酒店财富继承人普里茨克个人向该组织捐赠了500万美元。他的堂兄詹妮弗·普里茨克（Jennifer Pritzker）又向该政治行动委员会捐赠了100万美元。
支持加密货币的超级政治行动委员会“Fairshake”正在伊利诺伊州的国会竞选中大量投入，包括参议院民主党初选。根据联邦选举委员会的申报文件，该组织在1月底手头现金为1.91亿美元，这表明支持加密货币的团体在本次中期选举周期中可能在竞选中发挥影响力。
在伊利诺伊州参议院竞选中，该超级政治行动委员会已花费超过800万美元在广告上攻击斯特拉顿，而斯特拉顿得到了像普里茨克和马萨诸塞州参议员伊丽莎白·沃伦（Elizabeth Warren）这样的加密货币监管倡导者的支持。州长去年签署了一项法案来监管该州的加密货币行业。
Fairshake发言人杰夫·维特（Geoff Vetter）告诉CNN，该组织拒绝对伊利诺伊州的竞选发表评论，但表示它总体上“支持亲加密货币的候选人，反对反加密货币的政客”。
斯特拉顿及其盟友已对加密货币支出进行了反击。“一个参议院席位不应该被出售，但‘让美国再次伟大’（MAGA）的捐赠者和加密货币游说者正试图买下一个席位，”伊利诺伊州未来行动委员会的一则广告中这样说道。
“我认为有很多外部资金，来自州外的人，试图推动其他候选人，因为他们有某些特殊利益，”普里茨克说。“我关注的是，我需要一位斗士在华盛顿为我们奋斗。那就是朱莉安娜。”
克里希纳穆尔蒂表示，斯特拉顿及其盟友对外部支出的批评是虚伪的。
“是她打开了超级政治行动委员会的大门，让大量资金淹没芝加哥的电波，”克里希纳穆尔蒂告诉CNN。“我不控制它们中的任何一个，我也不代表它们中的任何一个说话。如你所见，没有人在资助我的竞选活动。我自己做所有的竞选和筹款工作。”
Rep. Robin Kelly speaks during a debate in Chicago on February 19.
Nam Y. Huh/AP
凯利抓住了民主党内部在电波上的争斗，发布了一则包含其对手攻击广告的广告，她说：“哦，地狱不！我的对手们想互相攻击，而我们却在艰难求生。”
“是时候专注于真正重要的事情了，”凯利在广告中说道，同时推倒了一台电视机。“那就是你们。”
贾恩格雷科预计，最近几周的所有广告投放并没有太大影响。他说，这使得克里希纳穆尔蒂处于优势，因为他是第一个采取行动的人。克里希纳穆尔蒂的广告在去年夏天就已出现在电视上——比其他候选人早了几个月。
“电波以及每个人的电脑和邮箱都被外部支出淹没，这实际上已经冻结了这场竞选，”贾恩格雷科说。“你肯定无法打开电视，但即使只是打开电脑也会被大量广告轰炸。很难相信会有重大转变。”
移民问题成为焦点
特朗普政府的激进移民镇压行动——包括去年秋天部署ICE特工到芝加哥——也成为这场竞逐中的一个焦点，候选人都在努力说服选民，他们将最坚决地对抗政府的这些行动。
斯特拉顿对特朗普的举措采取了最坚决的立场，呼应了长期以来废除美国移民和海关执法局（ICE）的进步派呼声。她还批评克里希纳穆尔蒂接受了与帕兰提尔（Palantir）有关的竞选捐款，而帕兰提尔是协助移民执法的联邦承包商。
克里希纳穆尔蒂反驳称，他会通过禁止特工戴口罩、强制出示身份证件和禁止无证逮捕来“废除特朗普的ICE”。
据他的竞选团队称，克里希纳穆尔蒂已将来自帕兰提尔首席技术官的捐款转交给了移民权利团体。
凯利认为联邦边境执法机构不能简单地消失，尽管她在特朗普本月早些时候宣布解雇她之前，曾提出法案弹劾国土安全部部长克里斯蒂·诺姆（Kristi Noem）。
伊利诺伊州的局势反映了国会山和全国竞选中正在进行的一场辩论：民主党如何在移民和边境安全的复杂政治中导航。近年来，选民在这个问题上倾向于共和党人，但民主党希望在即将到来的选举中利用对总统行动的愤怒。
克里希纳穆尔蒂也从个人角度处理这个问题，经常强调自己的移民经历，以此挑战特朗普的举措。
在接受CNN采访时，克里希纳穆尔蒂表示，确保下一代移民拥有与他的家人相同的机会“激励着我的竞选”。
“当我看到有人被ICE或美国海关和边境保护局（CBP）抢走的视频时，我不禁想到，如果不是天赐恩典，我可能就是那个因是棕色皮肤而被种族貌相的人，”他说，并补充说，选举像他这样背景的人进入参议院将是对唐纳德·特朗普在国土安全部（DHS）所做所为的“谴责”。
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi speaks during a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing in the US Capitol on March 4.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
争取选民
在竞选的最后阶段，候选人花费了大量时间在芝加哥大都市区争取支持，该地区是该州绝大多数民主党选民的所在地。
南卡罗来纳州有影响力的民主党人吉姆·克莱伯恩（Jim Clyburn）在选举前一周与凯利共同主持了一场筹款活动。普里茨克在选举前几天与斯特拉顿参加了几次活动，而沃伦则于周五在芝加哥与她一起竞选。
沃伦认为，伊利诺伊州的参议院竞选将成为检验加密货币超级政治行动委员会能否在本周期选举结果中发挥作用的试金石。
“如果不是另一方大量资金的涌入——黑钱、不明资金、掩盖资金来源和真实意图的资金——这场比赛根本不会这么接近，”沃伦在接受CNN采访时表示。“我担心这意味着什么，不仅仅是在某一场竞选中，而是对我们的民主意味着什么。”
在选举前的周四，克里希纳穆尔蒂和斯特拉顿分别在芝加哥的南岸竞选，该地区由凯利代表，拥有大量黑人人口。
当他在南岸一个投票站与选民打招呼时，克里希纳穆尔蒂的广告影响力可见一斑：早期选民在喊“拉贾！”。64岁的投票站工作人员丹尼斯·威廉姆斯（Denise Williams）走到克里希纳穆尔蒂面前要求合影，称“我只是喜欢你的广告”。
在附近的斯特拉顿在一家高级生活设施的活动中，当地市议员米歇尔·哈里斯（Michelle Harris）敦促一屋子黑人老年人考虑投票给来自南岸的斯特拉顿，因为“她是我们中的一员”。
斯特拉顿在接受CNN采访时表示，她希望周二的初选能向全国民主党人发出信息，让他们在努力重新赢得众议院和参议院时，能够应对选民的不满情绪。
“我认为我们需要思考的很多信息不是在某个地方的静修中形成的，”斯特拉顿告诉CNN。“这是关于与社区中的人们交谈，并匹配当他们走上街头时展现出的能量。”
美国有线电视新闻网的爱德华-以撒·多维雷（Edward-Isaac Dovere）和大卫·赖特（David Wright）对此报道有贡献。
A Democratic fight for an Illinois Senate seat is testing the sway of JB Pritzker, pro-crypto forces and anti-ICE messaging
By Arlette Saenz, Steve Contorno
29 min ago
PUBLISHED Mar 16, 2026, 7:00 AM ET
Rep. Robin Kelly, left, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, center, and Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, candidates for the US Senate, debate in Chicago on February 19.
Nam Y. Huh/AP
Chicago—
The retirement of Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin after nearly 30 years in office sparked an expensive three-way Democratic primary that has showcased the party’s divisions over how to confront President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown and introduced pro-crypto forces as an influence seeking to shape the midterm elections. The contest is also setting up a test of Gov. JB Pritzker’s political clout in the state as he eyes a potential 2028 presidential bid.
Whoever wins the Democratic nomination on Tuesday will be the heavy favorite in November to succeed the 81-year-old Durbin in a state where no Republican has won statewide in 12 years.
The field features an experienced slate of Illinois politicos — US Reps. Robin Kelly and Raja Krishnamoorthi and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton. Each would bring some degree of generational change in replacing Durbin, the second-ranking Democrat in the Senate.
After a face-off in Texas earlier this month, the Illinois race marks the second contentious primary for Democrats early in the midterms calendar, offering more clues about the direction of the party as it charts a path back to power in Congress and beyond. The Illinois contest on the Democratic side has drawn even more spending than the one in Lone Star State.
For Pritzker, who has exerted his political and financial influence to boost Stratton, the race is poised to serve as a gauge of his strength in his home state as he starts to look to an expected national campaign in 2028.
Pritzker’s involvement in the race has led to some tension within the Democratic Party. New York Rep. Yvette Clarke, who leads the influential Congressional Black Caucus, which has backed Kelly, accused Pritzker of an “effort to tip the scales” in the contest.
“A sitting governor shouldn’t be heavy-handing the race. Quite frankly, his behavior in this race won’t soon be forgotten by any of us,” Clarke said in a statement.
At a news conference after Clarke voiced her criticism, Pritzker said of Stratton, “I would like a Black woman to represent us in the United States Senate. I just want the best person. She happens to be a Black woman.”
“By the way, I think I’ve proven for many years now that I stand with communities of color across the state and with candidates who are running for public office,” he added.
If Kelly or Stratton were to win in November, it would mark the second time Illinois voters elected a Black woman to represent them in the US Senate. Former Illinois Sen. Carol Moseley Braun in 1992 became the first Black woman ever elected to the chamber. Durbin has remained neutral in the race, while the state’s other senator — Democrat Tammy Duckworth — has endorsed Stratton.
Krishnamoorthi, who was born in New Delhi and immigrated with his family to the US as an infant, would become the first Indian American from the state to serve as senator.
US Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi walks in the St. Patrick’s Day parade on March 14 in Chicago.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
Outside money pours in
Little public polling exists in the race, but Krishnamoorthi, 52, has held a substantial financial edge over his opponents, and his spending has fueled a surprisingly expensive contest.
“The level of spending is just ludicrous,” said Peter Giangreco, a veteran political operative in the state who is not working for any of the Senate candidates.
Krishnamoorthi has brought in more than $30 million for his bid, including $20 million transferred from his House campaign account, according to Federal Election Commission fillings. His campaign has accounted for roughly half of advertising spending in the Senate primary — $28.9 million out of more than $56 million — according to a CNN analysis of AdImpact data.
Stratton, 60, has raised more than $4 million, while Kelly, 69, brought in more than $3 million — though $2 million of that was transferred from her House campaign account. Each of their campaigns has spent around $1 million on ads.
Outside groups also have poured millions into the contest. Illinois Future PAC has spent $14 million to support Stratton and criticize Krishnamoorthi. Pritzker, a billionaire heir to the Hyatt hotel fortune, has personally given $5 million to the group. His cousin Jennifer Pritzker has donated another $1 million to the PAC.
Fairshake, a pro-crypto super PAC, is investing heavily across congressional races in Illinois, including the Democratic primary for Senate. The group ended January with $191 million cash on hand, according to FEC filings, signaling the influential role crypto-aligned groups could play across races this midterm cycle.
Joined by Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, left, Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton speaks to residents at the Montclare Senior Residences of Avalon Park in Chicago on March 12.
Sophia Tareen/AP
In the Illinois Senate race, the super PAC has spent more than $8 million on ads attacking Stratton, who has support from crypto regulation advocates like Pritzker and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. The governor signed a bill last year to regulate the state’s crypto industry.
Geoff Vetter, a spokesperson for Fairshake, told CNN the group declined to comment on the Illinois race but said it generally “supports pro-crypto candidates and opposes anti-crypto politicians.”
Stratton and her allies have pushed back on the crypto spending. “A Senate seat shouldn’t be for sale, but MAGA donors and crypto-lobbyists are trying to buy one,” intoned one ad from the Illinois Future PAC.
“I think there’s a lot of outside money, people outside the state, who are trying to push up other candidates, because they got some special interest,” Pritzker said. “The interest I’ve got is I need a fighter fighting for us in Washington. That’s Juliana.”
Krishnamoorthi has said the critiques coming from Stratton and her allies about outside spending are hypocritical.
“She’s the one who opened the gates to super PACs galore flooding Chicago airwaves,” Krishnamoorthi told CNN. “I don’t control any of them. I don’t speak for any of them. As you can tell, nobody is bankrolling my campaign. I’m doing all my own campaigning and fundraising.”
Rep. Robin Kelly speaks during a debate in Chicago on February 19.
Nam Y. Huh/AP
Kelly has seized on the Democratic infighting on the airwaves, releasing her own ad featuring her rivals’ attack ads, saying, “Oh, hell no! My opponents want to attack each other while we struggle to survive.”
“It’s time to focus on what really matters,” Kelly says in the ad as she pushes over a television set. “You.”
Giangreco expects all the advertising in the race hasn’t moved the needle much in recent weeks. That gives Krishnamoorthi the edge, he said, because he was first to make a move. Krishnamoorthi’s ads appeared on TV last summer — months before the rest of the field.
“The airwaves and everyone’s computer and mailbox are so overwhelmed by outside spending, it has essentially frozen the race,” Giangreco said. “You can’t turn the TV on for sure but even just opening your computer you get pounded. It’s hard to believe there’s a major shift.”
Immigration flashpoint
Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdown, which included deploying ICE agents to Chicago last fall, also has emerged as a flashpoint in the race as the candidates work to convince voters they will put up the strongest fight against the administration’s actions.
Stratton has taken the most defiant stance against Trump’s moves, echoing long-standing progressive calls to abolish US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. She also criticized Krishnamoorthi for accepting campaign donations connected to Palantir, a federal contractor assisting immigration enforcement.
Krishnamoorthi has countered he would “abolish Trump’s ICE” by banning the agents from wearing masks, forcing them to present identification and prohibiting warrantless arrests.
According to his campaign, Krishnamoorthi has since passed on the contributions, which came from Palantir’s chief technology officer, to immigrant rights groups.
Kelly has argued the federal border enforcement agencies cannot simply cease to exist, though she introduced legislation to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem before Trump announced earlier this month he was firing her.
The dynamics in Illinois mirror a debate playing out on Capitol Hill and in races nationwide as Democrats navigate the complex politics around immigration and border security. Voters have sided with Republicans on the issue in recent years, but Democrats are hoping to seize on the outrage over the president’s actions in upcoming elections.
Krishnamoorthi also has approached the issue from a personal perspective, often highlighting his own immigrant experience as he’s challenged Trump’s moves.
In an interview with CNN, Krishnamoorthi said ensuring the next generation of immigrants has the same opportunities as his family “animates my campaign.”
“I can’t but help to think when I see a video of somebody who’s snatched by ICE or [Customs and Border Protection] there, but for the grace of God, I could have been that person who was racially profiled because they were brown-skinned,” he said, adding electing someone with his background to the Senate would be a “rebuke to what Donald Trump is doing with DHS.”
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi speaks during a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing in the US Capitol on March 4.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Courting voters
In the final stretch of the campaign, the candidates spent a substantial portion of their time mining for support across the Chicagoland area, where the vast majority of the state’s Democratic voters reside.
Rep. Jim Clyburn, an influential South Carolina Democrat, headlined a fundraiser with Kelly a week before the election. Pritzker joined Stratton for several events in the days leading up to the election, and Warren campaigned with her in Chicago on Friday.
Warren argued Illinois will be a test case for whether crypto super PACs can shape the outcome of elections this cycle.
“This wouldn’t even be a close race if it weren’t for money pouring in on the other side — dark money, hidden money, money that disguises who it is and what the underlying message is all about,” Warren told CNN in an interview. “I worry about what that means, not just in any one race, but what it means for our democracy.
On the Thursday before the election, Krishnamoorthi and Stratton each campaigned in Chicago’s South Side, an area represented by Kelly that has a significant Black population.
As he greeted voters at a South Side polling location, signs of Krishnamoorthi’s advertising dominance could be found as shouts of “Raja!” greeted him as he spoke with early voters. Denise Williams, a 64-year-old poll worker, approached Krishnamoorthi asking for a photo, saying, “I just love your commercials.”
At a nearby Stratton event at a senior living facility, the local alderman, Michelle Harris, urged a room full of Black seniors to consider voting for Stratton, who is from the South Side, because “she is one of us.”
In an interview with CNN, Stratton said she hopes Tuesday’s primary will send a message to Democrats nationwide as they try to tap into voter frustration in their push to win back the House and Senate.
“I think a lot of the message of what we need to be thinking about is not something that’s developed in some room somewhere on a retreat,” Stratton told CNN. “It’s about talking to the people in communities and matching the energy that people are showing us when they get to the streets.”
CNN’s Edward-Isaac Dovere and David Wright contributed to this report.
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