Democrats joust over ICE, Trump donors in Illinois Senate primary

An aggressive style has helped Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton surge in the polls, which have recently swung between her and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi.

Democrats clamoring for their party to get tougher on President Donald Trump will get a sense of how much of it their base wants when voters in deep-blue Illinois select a Democratic nominee to replace retiring incumbent Sen. Dick Durbin.

Unlike the recent Senate primary in Texas, where Democrats publicly weighed questions of electability, the Praire State's March 17 primary is focused on the breadth of liberal voters' ambition.

"I think Democrats should be doing everything possible to stop the Republican Party," Jacob Rosenbacher, a technology executive from Chicago who voted early for Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, one of the top contenders, told USA TODAY.

Illinois voters must send a message to Washington, he said, in response to Trump's aggressive use of executive authority, such as sending thousands of immigration enforcement agents and 300 National Guard troops into Chicago last year as part of "Operation Midway Blitz."

That's why he is supporting Stratton – a close ally to Gov. JB Pritzker, one of Trump's fiercest adversaries – over Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., a well-funded rival who led in early polls.