Another U.S. Senate Debate Falls Flat
Congresswoman Robin Kelly (D-Lynwood) gestures while Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Schaumburg), and Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton look on in the second debate in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Thursday at WLS-TV in Chicago. (Photo: Chicago Tribune)
When polling shows you trailing by double digits with six weeks to go before election day, one would think a candidate may start to try to point out dramatic differences between themselves and the frontrunner.
But in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton, who polls show trailing Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Schaumburg), used a debate hosted by WLS-TV in Chicago Thursday to point out subtle differences between her and the frontrunner.
Stratton, Krishnamoorthi, and Congresswoman Robin Kelly (D-Lynwood), used the hourlong debate to mainly take shots at President Trump.
“We have a president that is stomping on the constitution, a president that doesn’t believe that he has to follow the rule of law,” Stratton said. “We have a president, and now a court system, oftentimes especially the Supreme Court, that is rubber stamping his authoritarian agenda.”
“I don’t think anyone imagined that someone would take advantage and break the laws that [Trump] has been breaking,” Kelly said.
The debate featured fewer spats over Immigration and Customs Enforcement funding, but Krishnamoorthi continued his call to abolish “Trump’s ICE” instead of abolishing or defunding the whole agency, a position he says is consistent with Gov. JB Pritzker, who is financially backing Stratton’s campaign.
Stratton has called for a full abolishment of the agency.
“I’d be curious if my colleagues agree with this position,” Krishnamoorthi said, trying to point out Stratton’s inconsistency with Pritzker.
Both Kelly and Stratton vowed to vote against all of Trump’s federal appointments, while Krishnamoorthi said he would “blue slip,” or put a hold on, what he called “radical” judicial appointments by Trump.
Krishnamoorthi focused on blocking funding for some of Trump’s most controversial agencies, like Health and Human Services, run by vaccine denier Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
“I think that we have to block appropriations and restrict money that’s spent at HHS, unless it’s spent in the right way, including in executing a well thought-out vaccine policy,” Krishnamoorthi said.
Krishnamoorthi has been up on TV since July and Stratton’s campaign is being backed by a new set of Super PAC ads funded by Pritzker.
It isn’t clear a debate on a Thursday night in January that didn’t air on WLS-TV’s main channel will move the needle in the race.
“It was a total snoozefest,” one Democratic operative texted late Thursday. “Can’t imagine why we [Democrats] aren’t excited about this race.”
Another televised debate will take place next month.
The video of Thursday night’s debate can be found here.
