From NBC News: It was January, just two months until Illinois’ Democratic Senate primary. And Quentin Fulks saw a critical opening.
Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton and her two chief rivals had all voiced opposition to the aggressive operations of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. But Stratton made a sharp distinction; she said she wanted to abolish ICE outright, while Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi and Robin Kelly took more nuanced positions.
Stratton’s decisive win stunned some pundits who watched Krishnamoorthi hold a steady lead in the contest for months. Krishnamoorthi had begun airing television ads the previous summer and led in fundraising, while the major pro-Stratton super PAC held off until January.
Fulks, who headed the Illinois Future PAC, the financial engine backing Stratton, discussed the factors behind Stratton’s victory with NBC News. He said Stratton knew ICE was unpopular with Democrats in the state, especially after enforcement officers caused havoc in Chicago and suburbs in fall 2025. They quickly aired an ad promoting Stratton as the only major candidate seeking to get rid of ICE.
“We beat them to the punch on that issue,” Fulks said. “The PAC went up first.”
“For Juliana and the issues she was championing, that was by far the most potent issue,” Fulks said in an interview. “We found in our research that that was a really big factor” in moving voters.
Read more at NBC News
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