* Another poll from Raja Krishnamoorthi’s US Senate campaign conducted by GBAO Strategies…
Compared with Raja’s December polling, US Rep. Robin Kelly is up eight points, while the rest of the field has essentially stayed the same.
* Back to today’s press release…
Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi continues to dominate the field in the Democratic primary election for U.S. Senate, moving above 40 percent in a recent survey1 of likely voters. Raja’s lead is wide and expanding, as we rapidly move towards early voting in the coming weeks. Raja currently wins 41 percent of the vote, far ahead of Lieutenant Governor Julianna Stratton (16 percent) and Congresswoman Robin Kelly (15 percent), who are statistically tied for second place. Since August, Raja has increased his margin over Stratton by 5 points.
In addition to his overall strength, Raja’s coalition is quite broad and he currently leads in every region of the state and among White, Black, and Latino voters. He is winning particularly large shares of the vote among critical high turnout blocs of voters, including seniors (58 percent), voters in suburban Chicago (50 percent), and voters who have voted in all three of the most recent Democratic primaries (46 percent).
* Methodology…
Results are taken from a survey of 900 likely voters in the March 2026 Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Illinois. Interviews were conducted by live dialers via telephone and through text-to-web responses between January 8-12, 2026. Results carry a margin of error of +/- 3.3 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence interval.
* As you likely know, Bruce Leon has officially dropped out of the 9th CD race. Evanston Now…
Democratic Committeeman Bruce Leon, less than a week after saying he’d stay in the 9th Congressional District Democratic primary, is dropping out and endorsing Phil Andrew, a former FBI agent and hostage negotiator from Wilmette.
The decision, which comes in response to pressure from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee urging Leon to drop his bid, has been in the air for several weeks, according to people with knowledge of the endorsement, but was made official with Leon visiting Andrew’s campaign office in Skokie Tuesday afternoon.
The news was first reported Tuesday by the Chicago Tribune and confirmed by Andrew’s campaign manager, Dave Seman, who told Evanston Now that the campaign is “excited to accept support” from Leon, who brings with him significant connections in Chicago’s Orthodox Jewish community.
Leon said he filed paperwork Tuesday to officially remove his name from the March 17 primary ballot, something he’s technically still able to do despite last Thursday’s state-deadline to solidify the ballot at 17 Democratic candidates.
More from the Tribune…
“We really see this as, like, a force multiplier,” Andrew said. “I’m new to politics, but I understand that it is a process of addition.” […]
Andrew, for his part, criticized the “outsized” influence of AIPAC in the race but said his campaign would “welcome support from all the different places that resources could come from, as long as they recognize we are moving forward on a shared vision for the future.”
Leon had dreamed of representing the Orthodox Jewish community in Congress, he said, but felt some relief at giving up the campaign this week.
“I feel better for the city of Chicago, the 9th District and the country if we can pull this off,” he said.
Even more from Journal & Topics…
After U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-9th) announced last year she would not run for reelection in 2026, and 16 Democrats joined one already running in the upcoming primary, the money from outsiders looking to get their candidate in office started pouring in. One quiet but major player in the race appears to be the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC. […]
“We are not aware of, or interested in, any between outside groups and other campaigns,” [Sen. Laura Fine’s] spokesman Owen Kilmer said. “Sen. Fine’s sole focus is talking to voters about what’s keeping them up at night and her record standing up to special interests and the insurance companies that won’t hesitate to bankrupt families to pad their bottom line.”
A letter released by [9th CD candidate Kat Abughazaleh], reportedly authored by AIPAC, said, “She’s not just loud, she’s well-funded — Abughazaleh has already raised nearly $1,000,000, positioning her as the financial frontrunner in the early stages of this race. If we don’t act now, she could win,” it continued. “She poses a direct threat to our mission and the future of Israel’s security. Fortunately, we have a fighter of our own: Illinois State Senator Laura Fine.” […]
Abughazaleh’s video, along with other reports, also claim AIPAC hosted fundraising events for Fine in California. When asked if AIPAC held such fundraisers for Fine, Kilmer acknowledged that fundraisers in California took place. He said some people at those fundraisers were also affiliated with AIPAC, but said those events were not AIPAC fundraisers.
* Evanston Now’s Matthew Eadie…
* The Servant-Leader Fund, which says on its website that it “helps elect principled, Democratic next-generation veterans and national security professionals,” has spent $27,000 on mail backing Democrat Dan Tully, who is running for Raja Krishnamoorthi’s 8th Congressional District seat. The mailer…
* In the 2nd CD, Sen. Willie Preston has been endorsed by Cook County Clerk Monica Gordon…
* Tribune…
Alleging violations of the U.S. Constitution and federal law during the chaotic and at times violent immigration crackdowns in Chicago and Minneapolis, U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly and roughly 70 Democratic colleagues on Wednesday moved to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, a largely symbolic move as Republicans maintain a narrow House majority.
Kelly, speaking at a Washington news conference, acknowledged the long odds of moving the articles of impeachment against Noem through the GOP-controlled House. But the seven-term congresswoman from south suburban Lynwood, who is running in Illinois’ March 17 Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, said growing support for the effort and a groundswell of public opposition to the tactics of federal immigration agents, most recently the fatal shooting of Renee Good in Minneapolis a week ago, will put pressure on Noem. […]
The first step toward removing Noem from office would be for the Republican-controlled House to approve the charges in the impeachment resolution, an unlikely scenario even after some GOP lawmakers have broken with party leadership and President Donald Trump recently on issues including the release of files on disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and the extension of Affordable Care Act tax subsidies. The Republican-controlled Senate would then have to vote to convict Noem and remove her from office by a two-thirds majority vote. […]
Even among Kelly’s 13 fellow Democrats in Illinois’ 17-member congressional delegation, only eight had signed on as co-sponsors of the impeachment resolution as of Wednesday afternoon. Those who didn’t co-sponsor included the state’s two Latino members of Congress, U.S. Reps. Jesús “Chuy” García and Delia Ramirez, both of Chicago.
Among those co-sponsoring the resolution is Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Schaumburg, who is running against Kelly in the Democratic Senate primary.
* Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton has been endorsed by the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers Local Union No. 1. Press Release…
