Raja: I’m Raja Krishnamoorthi, and I approve this message.
VO: Juliana Stratton keeps getting caught. Stratton says she doesn’t take corporate or MAGA money, but that’s just not true. Stratton’s taken hundreds of thousands of dollars from corporate lobbyists and Trump donors. Stratton super PACs caught taking money from a company that helps run the worst ICE facility in Chicago. And even violating federal election law.
Juliana Stratton, corporate and maga donations, ICE contractor money, accused of breaking federal laws. Hypocrisy we can’t trust.
* Back to Raja’s press release…
Stratton’s hypocrisy has already been exposed. Don’t take our word for it — see the reporting below.
THE TRUTH: Stratton has taken hundreds of thousands of dollars from corporate, lobbyist, and Trump donors.
Chicago Sun-Times: “Stratton vows to not take corporate PAC money in Senate bid but has history of getting corporate backing.” “But Stratton has a history of accepting corporate PAC and direct corporate contributions into her state campaign funds since 2016….This year, she also received $5,000 in corporate PAC money and $46,000 from corporations in her super PAC.”
Chicago Tribune: “Federal campaign finance records show a separate committee she set up a few months before launching her Senate bid, Level Up PAC, accepted contributions from corporate PACs and directly from corporations.”
Capitol Fax: “Stratton’s Campaign Took Nearly $40,000, Or 2% Of Her Fundraising, From MAGA & Trump Donors.”
THE TRUTH: Stratton’s super PAC got caught taking money from a company that helps run the worst ICE facility in Chicago.
- CBS Chicago: “The Democratic Lieutenant Governor’s Association, which is helping get Stratton elected, has received a six-figure donation from ICE contractor CoreCivic.”
- WBEZ: “Prison company hiring for Chicago-area ICE centers ready to cash in on Trump deportation campaign.” “CoreCivic is looking for administrative workers to help U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Chicago and at ICE’s Broadview processing facility.”
THE TRUTH: Stratton’s other super PAC got caught breaking federal election law.
- Capitol News Illinois: “But within hours of its launch, the PAC had to update the ad after Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi’s campaign noted it appeared to violate federal campaign finance law by failing to disclose that it was not authorized by Stratton or her campaign.”
* The Juliana campaign fired back with a press release responding to Raja’s negative ad. But if it ain’t on TV, etc., nobody’s gonna know about it…
After spending more than $25 million on TV ads, Raja Krishnamoorthi went negative today, desperately resorting to attacking Juliana Stratton as momentum solidifies behind her campaign. Krishamoorthi has flooded the airwaves since July with little movement in the polls. Entering the final stretch of the race, Juliana’s campaign is soaring with major endorsements, standout debate performances, and a clear belief among voters that she’s the strongest candidate to take on Donald Trump and fight for Illinois in the U.S. Senate.
Statement from Juliana for Illinois spokesperson Allison Janowski:
“Juliana Stratton has the momentum in this race, and Raja Krishnamoorthi has gotten desperate. Despite spending $25 million, he’s failed to move the needle because voters know who he really represents: corporate PACs, MAGA allies, Trump advisors, and ICE contractors. It’s clear Juliana is the strongest candidate to take on Donald Trump and fight for Illinois in the U.S. Senate, and no amount of Raja’s lies can change that.”
The content of the attack ad shows that Raja is trying to run from his own record of being weak on Trump and weak on ICE. Reporting from the Chicago Sun-Times in December revealed that Raja has taken more $90,000 dollars from key Trump and MAGA allies, including $30,000 from the Chief Technology Officer of Palantir, an ICE contractor that helped enable the agency’s terror campaign in Chicago and across the country.
THE FACTS:
Palantir CTO Shyam Sankar contributed more than $30,000 to Krishnamoorthi’s campaign. Sankar personally toured “a new high-tech immigrant tracking system” with DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and is profiting off of Trump’s deportation agenda, becoming an “overnight billionaire” during his administration. Krishnamoorthi doubled down on the donations before donating it after facing public backlash.
- Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi didn’t just take ICE contractor money – his record in the House shows he refuses to stand up to ICE when it counts. In June, Krishnamoorthi joined Republicans on a resolution to “express gratitude” to ICE “for protecting the homeland.” The vote came as ICE was already making arrests in Chicago’s South Loop and executing mass immigration raids in Los Angeles. He knew what ICE was doing, and he still chose to thank ICE.
- Krishnamoorthi has also faced criticism for accepting tens of thousands in campaign funds from donors with direct ties to Trump’s MAGA agenda, including a Project 2025 author and Heritage Foundation advisor.
- Krishnamoorthi also accepted $30,000 from Dr. Vijay G. Prabhakar, who “saluted Trump’s historic leadership,” and praised Kristi Noem for her role in Trump’s “Leadership Team Built for Victory.”
- Krishnamoorthi took $5,000 from Space X even after Elon Musk was announced as the head of DOGE and joked about Joe Biden and Kamala Harris being assassinated. He only returned it when he got caught.
- Juliana’s campaign is not taking any money from corporate PACs, ICE contractors, or MAGA allies. The Krishnamoorthi campaign knows this, but is resorting to launching misleading attacks on third party organizations to distract from the fact that he has personally solicited and accepted money from ICE contractors, corporate PACs, and MAGA allies for the past decade to fund his Senate campaign.
* More…
* Sun-Times | As Stratton airs ad with anti-Trump expletive, Krishnamoorthi launches first negative TV ad attacking her: The final weeks of a heated U.S. Senate race have proven to be feisty during live forums and debates, but a bit tamer on television — until now. Krishnamoorthi’s foray into an attack ad is the first to go negative on television in the statewide race to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin. And it comes as Stratton airs her first TV ad — and a pro-Stratton super PAC with $5 million of Gov. JB Pritzker’s dollars being used to run pro-Stratton ads.
* Press release | International Association of Machinist and Aerospace workers endorses Juliana Stratton for US Senate: Today, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) endorsed Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton for United States Senate. IAM represents more than 600,000 members across the country. Juliana has been a champion for workers across her career, and has worked hand and hand with organized labor to make Illinois the best state to work. “I’m deeply honored to be endorsed by the Machinists’ Union. For generations, IAM members have shown that when working people stand shoulder to shoulder, they create real change,” said Juliana Stratton. “We share a commitment to protecting workers’ rights, fighting for fair wages, and ensuring safe, dignified working conditions. Together, we’ll build an economy that respects the value of every worker and proves that our greatest strength has always been our solidarity.”
There are a lot of folks who are watching this unfold and very pleased that they or their organizations did not make an endorsement in the US Senate Race.
This race would be a lot more fun if all the candidates released their own versions of a [Censored] Trump ad.
Raja knows his win number. He may not be there yet, or Julianna may be in striking distance. A negative ad that changes people’s minds and makes them come off Julianna is the goal. Doesn’t matter if they go to him or Robin. As long as they take those votes away from Julianna and keep her from getting to Raja’s level. Raja won’t mind if Robin jumps 5-6 points; it doesn’t matter.
Rich said it best if it’s not on TV, who knows? Almost every race tightens as election day approaches. But the Stratton campaign has allowed Raja to dictate almost everything in this race. I suspect it won’t end well for her. I also suspect her Super Pac is going to unleash.
Re: Juliana methinks the lady doth protest too much.
What does she expect? Her campaign talking points are nonstop negative. People hate these types of ads but they do bring the focus to contrasts between candidates.
- Candy Dogood - Monday, Feb 23, 26 @ 11:32 am:
There are a lot of folks who are watching this unfold and very pleased that they or their organizations did not make an endorsement in the US Senate Race.
This race would be a lot more fun if all the candidates released their own versions of a [Censored] Trump ad.
- Frida's Boss - Monday, Feb 23, 26 @ 11:33 am:
Raja knows his win number. He may not be there yet, or Julianna may be in striking distance. A negative ad that changes people’s minds and makes them come off Julianna is the goal. Doesn’t matter if they go to him or Robin. As long as they take those votes away from Julianna and keep her from getting to Raja’s level. Raja won’t mind if Robin jumps 5-6 points; it doesn’t matter.
- Tom - Monday, Feb 23, 26 @ 11:39 am:
Rich said it best if it’s not on TV, who knows? Almost every race tightens as election day approaches. But the Stratton campaign has allowed Raja to dictate almost everything in this race. I suspect it won’t end well for her. I also suspect her Super Pac is going to unleash.
- Tom - Monday, Feb 23, 26 @ 11:41 am:
My apologies. It was Isabel’s post.
- Meh - Monday, Feb 23, 26 @ 11:55 am:
Re: Juliana methinks the lady doth protest too much.
What does she expect? Her campaign talking points are nonstop negative. People hate these types of ads but they do bring the focus to contrasts between candidates.