Illinois Election Results 2026: Who Is Don Tracy? The 75-Year-Old Attorney Who Won the Republican Senate Primary
Tracy won the Republican primary and is set to face Juliana Stratton in November.

SOURCE CHECK
TAP FOR WHYCredibility rates International Business Times, which republished this story. The other scores rate the article itself.
International Business Times is an established international news publisher, though this page offers limited information about its editorial and corrections practices. The article is attributed to a named author and identifies its original publication at IBTimes UK.
- Source type — An established international news publisher, but not a major wire service or newspaper of record.
- Author attribution — A named author is credited.
- Transparency — The page identifies IBTimes UK as the original publication, but offers little further reporting-process detail.
- Editorial standards — The text does not provide enough information to assess corrections practice or editorial standards in depth.
The article gives concrete vote shares, spending figures and polling context, with some claims attributed to a poll, an ad-tracking firm and named speakers. It offers limited direct perspective from the defeated candidates or other sources, and several conclusions about the race are presented with little supporting context.
HOW WE SCORE ↗The article covers both parties’ primary outcomes and provides figures about competing campaigns and outside spending. It gives limited space to the defeated candidates’ perspectives and offers little independent context for some of its assessments.
- Source diversity — Uses several kinds of information, including campaign quotes, polling, a race rating and ad-tracking figures, but few directly quoted viewpoints.
- Counterarguments presented — Reports the primary results and campaign spending but includes little response from the defeated candidates.
- Omitted context — Provides limited explanation of the candidates’ policy differences or the basis for its general-election forecast.
- Loaded language — The wording is mostly straightforward, with a few interpretive characterizations of the race and its consequences.
The article reports the primary results and campaign spending in largely neutral language. It includes favorable and unfavorable details about the candidates and does not clearly advocate for either party.
- Language tone — Mostly descriptive language, with no sustained partisan or evaluative wording.
- Source selection — Includes campaign statements, poll and race-rating information, and ad-spending figures without a clear partisan pattern.
- Framing — Frames the story around both parties’ primary outcomes and the coming general election.
Republished with credit
Republished from International Business Times UK, with credit to the original publisher.
360 stories · 57.6–58.4 · updated Oct 9, 2026
This is International Business Times UK's own score, and this article is credited to International Business Times UK. The host score in the Source Check is International Business Times's.
Don Tracy won the Republican primary for Illinois’s open U.S. Senate seat, while Juliana Stratton won the Democratic primary. The article reports that the November race is expected to favor Stratton and describes how Governor JB Pritzker’s support shaped the Democratic contest.
Don Tracy, a 75-year-old Springfield attorney and former Illinois Republican Party chairman, won the Republican Senate primary. The article says party endorsements and a $2.1 million fundraising haul helped him prevail, and that he will face Democratic nominee Juliana Stratton in November. It describes the seat as strongly Democratic and Tracy as an underdog.
Stratton defeated Raja Krishnamoorthi and Robin Kelly in a 10-candidate Democratic primary, leading with roughly 40% of the vote to Krishnamoorthi’s 33.2%. The article presents her win as a test of Governor JB Pritzker’s influence, citing his endorsement and funding for a PAC that spent on ads supporting Stratton and attacking Krishnamoorthi. It also reports that crypto-backed super PAC Fairshake spent more than $8 million targeting Stratton.
Community verdict
VOTING CLOSEDNo good or bad look here
This story reports what happened without casting Tracy in a good or bad light, so readers don’t rate it and it doesn’t count toward Tracy’s record.
People in this story
SWIPE →Democratic nominee for Illinois’s U.S. Senate seat
Stratton's version of this story ↗U.S. representative and unsuccessful Democratic Senate primary candidate
Retiring U.S. senator from Illinois
U.S. senator from Illinois, mentioned in connection with her earlier race against Mark Kirk
U.S. representative and unsuccessful Democratic Senate primary candidate
Former vice president, mentioned for her 2024 Illinois result
Part of a bigger story
4 OUTLETSOutlets agree Don Tracy won the Republican nomination for Illinois’ open U.S. Senate seat and will advance to the general election. Center outlets focus on Tracy’s next campaign step and priorities, also noting his criticism of the state GOP when he resigned as party chair. Right-leaning outlets pair the nomination result with general-election context, emphasizing that the Democratic nominee is favored in a state that has long leaned Democratic in federal elections.
- ARTICLES
- 4
- OUTLETS
- 4
- AVG CRED
- 70
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