Fact-checking U.S. Senate candidate claims
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Senate candidates Don Tracy and Juliana Stratton. Photos: Monica Eng/Axios and Scott Olson/Getty Images
Juliana Stratton and Don Tracy are shifting from primary fights to partisan attacks about President Trump and immigration as the general election race heats up for retiring Sen. Dick Durbin's seat.
Why it matters: These early attacks offer a sneak preview of the strategies the two parties may use to woo Illinois voters in the next six months.
Between the lines: Tracy is criticizing Stratton's ties to Gov. JB Pritzker, who has bankrolled much of her campaign. Tracy's also calling her soft on welfare reform and immigration.
- Meanwhile, Stratton is casting Tracy as a presidential puppet whose policies the former Illinois GOP leader will have to carefully navigate in a blue state.
How some of the arguments are shaping up:
On immigration: "Miss Stratton is an open borders advocate, meaning that she is probably opposed to any and all deportations, except maybe a few exceptions," Tracy said on Paris Schutz's Chicago Report on Fox 32.
Stratton's campaign countered that she backs border security and deporting violent offenders, but accused Trump of targeting immigrant communities more broadly.
- "That's why Juliana believes ICE should be abolished and we need to overhaul our entire immigration system to move away from punitive enforcement and create real pathways for legal citizenship, including for Dreamers and DACA recipients," the campaign told Axios.
On protecting Illinois from the feds: "I would define [Tracy] as someone who's not going to stand up to Donald Trump, someone who's not going to fight for the best interest of the people of Illinois," Stratton said on the Fox 32 show.
Tracy's campaign decried that claim as "overly broad … Don Tracy is running to represent the people of the State of Illinois, and their interests are his priority over a political agenda … Tracy won't be a rubber stamp for anyone … [He'd] work with the federal government and state agencies to the extent possible to ensure Illinois receives all the funding it's due."
- When Axios asked if Tracy opposes any recent Trump initiatives, campaign representatives mentioned ending the filibuster.
The bottom line: A lot of hyperbole will be thrown around over the next six months, especially about immigration and fealty to Trump.
- We'll be doing our best to follow up.