The victory of Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton in Illinois’ Democratic primary for the United States Senate may represent another milestone in the rapid rise of Black women in American politics.
Speaking this week with Lurie Daniel Favors, Glynda Carr, the president of Higher Heights for America, said Stratton’s win could lead to the largest number of Black women ever serving simultaneously in the Senate.
“Juliana Stratton is going to be the sixth Black woman to serve in Congress, and three Black women will likely be serving in the Senate in 2027,” Carr told Daniel Favors. “That’s a record number.”
The Illinois race drew unusual attention because it featured an open Senate seat in a heavily Democratic state and because all three leading Democratic candidates were people of color, including two Black women.
“Senate seats don’t come open for half a century sometimes,” Carr continued. “We have to celebrate just the notion that in Illinois, on a statewide ballot, you saw three qualified, experienced, sitting elected officials running for higher office who were people of color.”
The contest also tested whether Black women candidates could succeed in a race saturated with outside money. Carr said more than $220 million in cryptocurrency industry spending poured into the race, much of it opposing Stratton, yet Stratton prevailed.
“She was able to build a coalition, expand the electorate and win,” Carr stated.
The race also recharged a familiar debate about whether multiple Black candidates competing in the same primary risk dividing voters. Carr dismissed that argument.
“If we are looking for a diverse election, we’re going to continue to see Black women running in the same race,” she clarified “There’s got to be a new playbook.”
Carr also downplayed reports of tension between Gov. JB Pritzker, who backed Stratton, and members of the Congressional Black Caucus, who supported another Black candidate in the race.
“The governor supported his candidate,” Carr explained. “The Congressional Black Caucus supported theirs. That’s what you do in a campaign. Then the winner wins, you consolidate and you govern.”
“All that progress happened in the last 15 years,” she added. “We went from one Black woman to the possibility of three.”
