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Juliana Stratton
2019 - Present
2027
6
Juliana Stratton (Democratic Party) is the Lieutenant Governor of Illinois. She assumed office on January 14, 2019. Her current term ends on January 11, 2027.
Stratton (Democratic Party) is running for election to the U.S. Senate to represent Illinois. She declared candidacy for the Democratic primary scheduled on March 17, 2026.[source]
She ran on a joint ticket with the gubernatorial nominee, J.B. Pritzker (D).
Stratton is a former Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives, representing District 5 from 2017 to 2019.
Biography
As of 2018, Juliana Stratton lived in Chicago, Illinois. She earned a bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1987 and a J.D. from DePaul University College of Law in 1992. Her career experience includes serving as the executive director of Cook County Justice for Children and the Cook County Justice Advisory Council. She was the founder and president of JDS Mediation Services, Inc. and taught conflict management and negotiation skills at Loyola University Chicago. Stratton served as the director for the Center for Public Safety and Justice at University of Illinois at Chicago.[1]
Political career
Below is a list of offices within Ballotpedia’s scope. Offices outside of that scope will not be listed. If an update is needed and the office is within our scope, please contact us.
Stratton's political career includes the following offices:
- 2019-present: Lieutenant Governor of Illinois
- 2017-2019: Illinois House of Representatives District 5
Elections
2026
See also: United States Senate election in Illinois, 2026
General election
The primary will occur on March 17, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. Additional general election candidates will be added here following the primary.
General election for U.S. Senate Illinois
Austin Mink, Tyrone Muhammad, and Anthony Smith are running in the general election for U.S. Senate Illinois on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Austin Mink (Independent)  | |
| Tyrone Muhammad (Independent) | ||
| Anthony Smith (Independent) | ||
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Illinois
The following candidates are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Illinois on March 17, 2026.
Candidate | ||
| Steve Botsford | ||
| Awisi Bustos | ||
| Jonathan Dean | ||
 | Adam Delgado | |
 | Robin Kelly | |
 | Raja Krishnamoorthi | |
 | Stanley Leavell | |
| Bryan Maxwell | ||
 | Robert Palmer | |
| Adair Rodriquez | ||
 | Kevin Ryan | |
| Jump Shepherd | ||
 | Juliana Stratton | |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Dick Durbin (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. Senate Illinois
The following candidates are running in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate Illinois on March 17, 2026.
Candidate | ||
| Panagioti Bartzis | ||
 | Doug Bennett | |
 | R. Cary Capparelli | |
 | Casey Chlebek | |
 | John Goodman | |
 | Pamela Denise Long | |
| Januario Ortega | ||
 | Jimmy Lee Tillman II | |
| Don Tracy | ||
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Endorsements
Stratton received the following endorsements. To send us additional endorsements, click here.
- U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D)
- U.S. Rep. Danny K. Davis (D)
- Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D)
- State Rep. Kelly Cassidy (D)
- State Rep. Tracy Katz Muhl (D)
- State Rep. Emanuel Welch (D)
- Chicago City Clerk Anna Valencia (Nonpartisan)
2022
See also: Illinois gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2022
General election
General election for Lieutenant Governor of Illinois
Incumbent Juliana Stratton defeated Stephanie Trussell, John Phillips, and Michael Kinney in the general election for Lieutenant Governor of Illinois on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Juliana Stratton (D) | 54.9 | 2,253,748 |
 | Stephanie Trussell (R) | 42.4 | 1,739,095 | |
 | John Phillips (L) | 2.7 | 111,712 | |
| Michael Kinney (Independent) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 7 | ||
| Total votes: 4,104,562 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Lieutenant Governor of Illinois
Incumbent Juliana Stratton defeated Karla Shaw in the Democratic primary for Lieutenant Governor of Illinois on June 28, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Juliana Stratton | 91.9 | 810,989 |
| Karla Shaw | 8.1 | 71,704 | ||
| Total votes: 882,693 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Lieutenant Governor of Illinois
The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for Lieutenant Governor of Illinois on June 28, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Stephanie Trussell | 57.5 | 458,102 |
| Kathleen Murphy | 15.7 | 125,094 | ||
 | Avery Bourne | 15.0 | 119,592 | |
 | Aaron Del Mar | 6.5 | 52,194 | |
 | Carolyn Schofield | 4.4 | 34,676 | |
| Latasha Fields | 0.9 | 7,371 | ||
| Total votes: 797,029 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Brett Mahlen (R)
2018
General election
General election for Lieutenant Governor of Illinois
Juliana Stratton defeated incumbent Evelyn Sanguinetti, Aaron Merreighn, and Sanj Mohip in the general election for Lieutenant Governor of Illinois on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Juliana Stratton (D) | 54.5 | 2,479,746 |
 | Evelyn Sanguinetti (R) | 38.8 | 1,765,751 | |
| Aaron Merreighn (Conservative Party) | 4.2 | 192,527 | ||
 | Sanj Mohip (L) | 2.4 | 109,518 | |
| Total votes: 4,547,542 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Lieutenant Governor of Illinois
The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for Lieutenant Governor of Illinois on March 20, 2018.
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Lieutenant Governor of Illinois
Incumbent Evelyn Sanguinetti defeated Richard Morthland in the Republican primary for Lieutenant Governor of Illinois on March 20, 2018.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Evelyn Sanguinetti |
 | Richard Morthland | |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Libertarian primary election
Libertarian primary for Lieutenant Governor of Illinois
Sanj Mohip advanced from the Libertarian primary for Lieutenant Governor of Illinois on March 20, 2018.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Sanj Mohip |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
2016
| Obama endorsement |
|---|
|
| During the 2016 election cycle Stratton was one of the candidates endorsed by President Barack Obama |
Full list of Obama's 2016 endorsements |
Elections for the Illinois House of Representatives were held in 2016. The primary election was held on March 15, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was November 30, 2015.[2]
Juliana Stratton ran unopposed in the Illinois House of Representatives District 5 general election.[3][4]
| Illinois House of Representatives, District 5 General Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic |  Juliana Stratton (unopposed) | |
| Source: Illinois State Board of Elections | ||
Juliana Stratton defeated incumbent Kenneth Dunkin in the Illinois House of Representatives District 5 Democratic primary.[5][6]
| Illinois House of Representatives, District 5 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Juliana Stratton |
68.03% | 19,790 | |
| Democratic | Kenneth Dunkin Incumbent | 31.97% | 9,300 | |
| Total Votes | 29,090 | |||
2016 primary
- Main article: Battleground Illinois primary elections, 2016
Race background
Along with the Senate District 50 race, the House District 5 race was hotly contested. According to the Associated Press, "The outcome of the races could have ramifications beyond their districts."[7]
In September 2015, Dunkin skipped a vote to override Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner's veto of legislation limiting the governor's role in negotiating the contracts of public sector unions such as AFSCME Council 31, Illinois' largest public union. The override vote failed despite the Democrats having a 71-seat veto-proof majority in the state House. "Had Mr. Dunkin been here, there would have been 71 Democrats voting to override," said House Speaker Mike Madigan (D).[8]
Dunkin said that he made it clear he would be "out of town" during the vote and argued that Madigan and party leaders knew of that beforehand. Rauner denied that he asked Dunkin to miss the vote, but said that he and Dunkin often discussed issues with each other.[8][9]
Describing his relationship to Speaker Madigan, Dunkin said, "Sometimes it's hot, sometimes it's warm, sometimes it's cold. But guess what? I'm not down there to make sure that Mike Madigan is happy for Ken Dunkin."[10]
In November 2015, Dunkin was the sole Democratic member to not cast a vote on a Madigan-backed measure to reverse the governor's changes to social service programs. Dunkin defended his actions, saying that he and the governor "worked out a compromise" that satisfied both sides and eventually became law. He later said, "I expect–and my constituents certainly expect–us to work out a compromise and solutions."[10]
Since those votes, the race between Dunkin and Stratton was viewed as "a choice between Gov. Bruce Rauner and House Speaker Mike Madigan," according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Dunkin had been open about collaborating with Rauner on certain issues, particularly those affecting the Black community, but insisted he was not "Rauner's guy." Stratton said that Democrats should stand up to Rauner's agenda but insisted she would not "rubber stamp" Madigan's agenda, either.[11]
On March 7, 2016, President Barack Obama (D) endorsed Stratton over Dunkin, narrating in an ad for Stratton that she "will bring a new voice to Springfield as State Representative."[12]
Campaign finance
According to Reboot Illinois, "the Dunkin-Stratton race was poised to become one of the most expensive state legislative primaries in Illinois history, with a total of $2.2 million in contributions." Both candidates recorded some of the highest donations of the 30 days before February 24, according to Illinois Sunshine, which tracks campaign contributions.[13]
As of March 11, 2016, Dunkin's campaign had received $987,312 in campaign contributions. The campaign received $800,000 from the Illinois Opportunity Project, a free market-oriented 501(c)(4) nonprofit. The group decided to support Dunkin in light of "the onslaught he is facing from House Speaker Mike Madigan and his public sector union allies in the March primary election," according to the group's website.[13][14][15]
As of March 11, 2016, Stratton's campaign had received over $1.2 million in campaign contributions, mainly from unions. The campaign received $138,900 from AFSCME Council 31, the public union that negotiates its contract with Gov. Rauner. The campaign also received $122,247 from SEIU Healthcare Illinois Indiana PAC, which is associated with the Service Employees International Union, a public union.[13][16]
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
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You can ask Juliana Stratton to fill out this survey by using the buttons below or emailing info@julianastratton.com.
2022
Juliana Stratton did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
Noteworthy events
|
|---|
| Coronavirus pandemic |
| Select a topic from the dropdown below to learn more.
|
Stratton announced on December 30, 2021, that she tested positive for COVID-19. She said she was vaccinated at the time she contracted the virus.[17]
State legislative tenure
Committee assignments
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Illinois committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Aging |
| • Economic Justice & Equity |
| • Higher Education |
| • Judiciary - Criminal |
| • Mental Health |
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Illinois scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2018
In 2018, the Illinois State Legislature was in session from January 8 through May 31.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills that "help or hinder Illinois citizens with developmental disabilities access more included lives in their homes and communities."'
- Legislators are scored on their votes on manufacturing issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2017, the Illinois State Legislature was in session from January 11 through May 31. There were also special sessions. The 1st special session was June 21-July 6. The 2nd special session was July 26-July 31. During the 3rd special session, the Senate met on August 13, and the House met on August 16. The 4th special session was on August 28-29. There was a veto session from October 24-November 9.
|
See also
2026 Elections
External links
|
Candidate U.S. Senate Illinois |
Officeholder Lieutenant Governor of Illinois |
Footnotes
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Juliana Stratton, Esq.," accessed February 5, 2018
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "Election and Campaign Finance Calendar," accessed November 30, 2015
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "Candidate list: General Election - 11/8/2016," accessed August 8, 2016
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "Election results, General election 2016," accessed December 15, 2016
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "Candidate Filing Search," accessed January 3, 2016
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "Election Results: GENERAL PRIMARY - 3/15/2016," accessed August 8, 2016
- ↑ The Associated Press, "Primaries test loyalty, party sway amid Illinois budget spat," March 2, 2016
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 ABC 7 Chicago, "Dem Dunkin Talks after Missing Key Vote in Springfield," September 10, 2015
- ↑ Chicago Tonight, "State Rep. Ken Dunkin: ‘I Don’t Work for Mike Madigan,’" September 4, 2015
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Chicago Tonight, "State Rep. Ken Dunkin Breaks Ranks With Democrats Again," November 11, 2015
- ↑ Chicago Sun-Times, "State house race pits Dunkin vs. Stratton, Rauner vs. Madigan," accessed March 2, 2016
- ↑ Chicago Sun-Times, "Obama endorses Stratton in 5th district campaign against Dunkin," March 7, 2016
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Reboot Illinois, "Michael Madigan vs. Bruce Rauner Proxy War Breaking Primary Spending Records," February 24, 2016
- ↑ Illinois Opportunity Project, "IOP Invests $500,000 in State Representative Race," accessed March 2, 2016
- ↑ Illinois Sunshine, "Friends of Ken Dunkin Committee," accessed March 11, 2016
- ↑ Illinois Sunshine, "Friends of Juliana Stratton Candidate Committee," accessed March 2, 2016
- ↑ 5 Chicago, "Illinois Lieutenant Governor Has Breakthrough COVID-19 Case," December 30, 2021
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Lieutenant Governor of Illinois 2019-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
Illinois House of Representatives District 5 2017-2019 |
Succeeded by Lamont Robinson Jr. (D) |
