Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton drew on her father’s experience of segregation — he was barred from a 1951 school trip to the U.S. Capitol — as she campaigned for the U.S. Senate. After a hard-fought Democratic primary victory, Stratton could become one of three Black women serving simultaneously in the Senate alongside Sens. Lisa Blunt Rochester and Angela Alsobrooks. Her progressive platform includes Medicare for All, a $25 federal minimum wage and abolishing ICE; she will face Republican Don Tracy in November.
From Segregated Trip Denial To A Senate Bid: Juliana Stratton Could Make History
Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton and her father, Henry Wiggins Jr.
Illinois Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton has woven a family story of exclusion into a bid for one of the nation's most powerful offices. Her father, Henry W. Wiggins Jr., grew up in Clearfield, Pennsylvania, and as a high school senior in 1951 was denied participation in a school trip to the U.S. Capitol because segregation prevented him from staying in the same hotels or eating in the same restaurants as his classmates.
Personal History Meets National Ambition
"It's not lost on me. First of all, I'm not talking about my great-grandfather," Stratton, 61, told USA TODAY. "I'm not even talking about my grandfather. I'm talking about my dad." Wiggins later served in the Navy and marched from Selma to Montgomery in 1965 for voting rights. He died in November.
Now, Stratton — a mother of four and a longtime Illinois public official — is running for the U.S. Senate and could ultimately serve in the very building her father was once barred from visiting.
Primary Victory And A Historic Possibility
Stratton won a competitive, high-spend Democratic primary in March, prevailing over Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (who entered the race with an estimated $30 million war chest) and Rep. Robin Kelly, among others. Her victory positions her to become one of the first three Black women to serve simultaneously in the U.S. Senate alongside Sens. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) and Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), should she win the general election in November against Republican Don Tracy.
Policy Platform And Campaign Style
Stratton runs to the left of many establishment Democrats. Her platform highlights Medicare for All, a $25 federal minimum wage, removing corporate PAC money from politics and abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). She gained national attention for a profanity-laced February ad in which voters are shown saying, "F--- Trump, vote Julianna," an ad Stratton has publicly joked about and defended as authentic voter sentiment.
Her campaign also emphasized economic affordability and family budgeting — she frequently notes her experience as a mother of four — and criticized rival candidates for ties to companies contracted by ICE. Gov. J.B. Pritzker's endorsement and financial backing were widely credited by analysts as decisive to her primary victory.
Context: A Broader Push For Diverse Leadership
Stratton’s run comes amid an uptick in efforts to elect Black officials to statewide office. Advocates and some governors, including Maryland’s Wes Moore, are pushing to increase the number of Black governors and federal officials. Across both parties there are high-profile gubernatorial and Senate contests that could produce historic firsts for Black candidates this cycle.
What Experts Say The Impact Could Be
Political scientists and scholars of Black women in politics say multiple Black women in the Senate could sharpen the chamber’s focus on maternal and women's health, education, and wages — issues that often intersect race and gender. Observers note that a trio of Black women senators would also be the largest-ever concurrent representation of Black senators and could shift caucus priorities.
"They bring attention to issues people may have overlooked," said Georgetown professor Nadia Brown, an expert on Black women in politics.
Background And Political Rise
Born in 1965 and raised on Chicago's South Side, Stratton graduated from the University of Illinois and earned a law degree from DePaul University in 1992. She first gained statewide prominence after unseating a Democratic incumbent in a 2016 primary and was tapped by Gov. J.B. Pritzker as his running mate in 2018; the ticket was reelected in 2022.
Stratton announced her Senate campaign on April 24 last year, a day after Sen. Dick Durbin announced his retirement. Her campaign launch leaned into a media-savvy, news-driven theme and a critique of Washington’s priorities.
November Outlook
If elected, Stratton would join Blunt Rochester and Alsobrooks as part of a historic cohort of Black women in the Senate and further diversify the chamber. Her general-election matchup with Don Tracy will test whether her progressive platform and hardline stance on Trump-era policies resonate with a statewide electorate in reliably Democratic Illinois.
Stratton frames her run as fulfillment of a family legacy: "What I would imagine they are thinking is that you are doing, Juliana, exactly what we raised you to do," she has said, reflecting on her father’s life and activism.
If they win, Lisa Blunt Rochester, left, and Angela Alsobrooks would be the first two Black women to serve in the U.S. Senate at the same time.
Maryland Gov.Wes Moore(D), one of only three Black governors elected in U.S. history, is championing efforts to elect more Black governors as a diverse slate of candidates, inclduing himself, competes in races across the country this fall.(Arturo Holmes, Getty Images for ESSENCE)
Rep.Byron Donalds, a Trump-backed Republican and leading contender in Florida’s governor’s race, could make history this fall as the state’s first Black governor if he defeats Democrat David Jolly in November.(Joe Raedle, Getty Images)
Rep. John James, the Republican nominee for Michigan governor, is locked in a competitive race against Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson. If elected, the Army veteran would become Michigan’s first Black governor.(Bill Pugliano, Getty Images)
Milwaukee County ExecutiveDavid Crowley, Wisconsin’s Democratic nominee for governor, won a closely watched primary race and is seeking to become the state’s first Black governor in November.(Daniel Boczarski, Getty Images for WisDems)
Keisha Lance Bottoms, the former mayor of Atlanta and Georgia’s Democratic nominee for governor, is seeking to make history as the state’s first Black and first female governor.(Megan Varner, Getty Images)
Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, the Democratic nominee for governor, is challenging Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo in one of the nation’s most competitive races. Ford was Nevada’s first Black attorney general.(IAN MAULE, AFP via Getty Images)
Henry Wiggins Jr. and his daughter, Juliana Stratton, during her childhood. She was raised on the South Side of Chicago.
Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, in front of Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, in Chicago earlier this year.
Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton is the state's Democratic nominee for Senate.
Democrats saw a burst of momentum following the successful campaign ofNew York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. From grassroots movements to national races, here are theprogressive candidates running in 2026 midterms.Abdul El-Sayed is a former Detroit-based public health official who is Michigan's Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate. He is a progressive, defeating the more moderate U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens in the primary, but El-Sayed has said he is not a democratic socialist.(Rebecca Cook, REUTERS)
DemocraticU.S. Senate nomineeand Florida state Rep. Angie Nixon is a member of her local chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America.(Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Unio, USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co)
Michigan 12th U.S. District Rep. Rashida Tlaib is one of two Democratic Socialists of America members in Congress, and she is running for reelection.(Ryan Garza, USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect)
Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton is the state's Democratic nominee for it's Senate race, but like El-Sayed, she is a progressive left candidate who does not identify as a democratic socialist.(Kara Hawley/Rockford Register St, USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect)
Darializa Avila Chevalier is the Democratic nominee for New York's 13th Congressional District. She was endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America's New York City chapter, which she is a member of.(Eduardo Munoz, REUTERS)
New York state Rep. Claire Valdez is the Democratic nominee for New York's 7th Congressional District. She is a a leader in the New York City Democratic Socialists of America, and they endorsed her.(Eduardo Munoz, REUTERS)
Wisconsin state Rep. Francesca Hong lost in the Democratic primary to Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, the more moderate pick. Hong is a Democratic Socialists of America member.(Mark Hoffman / Milwaukee Journal, USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co)
In Colorado, democratic socialist Melat Kiros is the Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives from Colorado's 1st Congressional District.(Elizabeth Frantz, REUTERS)
Democratic socialist Michigan state Rep. Donavan McKinney from Detroit is the Democratic nominee for Michigan's 13th Congressional District.(Ryan Garza, USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect)
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) meets with Senator-elect Andy Kim (D-NJ), Senator-elect Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Senator-elect Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Senator-elect Adam Schiff (D-CA), Senator-elect Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE) and Senator-elect Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) at the U.S. Capitol House in Washington, U.S., November 12, 2024. REUTERS/Nathan Howard
Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton and state Department of Agriculture Director Jerry Costello II during the 2021 Illinois State Fair in Springfield, Illinois on Aug. 16, 2021.
Juliana Stratton and her father, Henry Wiggins Jr., during her childhood. She was raised on Chicago's South Side.
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