DECATUR, Ill. – Illinois Lieutenant Governor Julianna Stratton has made history, winning Tuesday’s U.S. Senate election over Republican challenger Don Tracy.
The Associated Press called the race shortly after polls closed Tuesday evening.
Stratton’s victory makes Illinois the first state in the nation to elect two Black women to the U.S. Senate.
The historic milestone comes 34 years after Illinois voters elected Carol Moseley Braun in 1992, making her the first Black woman ever to serve in the Senate.
Stratton will become the sixth Black woman in U.S. Senate history and will join Delaware Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester and Maryland Senator Angela Alsobrooks as three Black women serving simultaneously in the chamber.
Before Stratton’s election, only five Black women had served in the U.S. Senate: Moseley Braun, former Vice President Kamala Harris, Laphonza Butler, Blunt Rochester and Alsobrooks.
Stratton will succeed retiring Democratic Senator Dick Durbin, who has represented Illinois in the Senate since 1997. Senator Tammy Duckworth will become Illinois’ senior senator following Durbin’s departure.
A Chicago native, Stratton earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign before receiving her law degree from DePaul University.
Stratton currently serves as Illinois’ lieutenant governor under Governor J.B. Pritzker. She will officially begin her six-year Senate term in January 2027.
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