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Quentin Fulks open thread
Wednesday, Mar 18, 2026 - Posted by Rich Miller * A whole lot of commenters here second-guessed Quentin Fulks the past several months. As you know, Q ran Pritzker’s super PAC supporting Juliana Stratton’s congressional bid. I understood the doubters because Quentin previously ran Pritzker’s failed graduated income tax constitutional amendment, so people naturally had their reservations. Lots of folks complained (myself included) that his spending started way too late for Stratton (which was a major complaint with the CA back in the day) and that Raja was so far ahead Q’s ads would never let her catch up. Those comments were likely in the hundreds. Well, LG Stratton not only caught up, but she won * Also, the legacy media journalists who bought into the prospect that Pritzker would fail in this race and are now covering for their sources is so fascinating and amusing. From the Wall St. Journal…
Hilarious. * As I’ve been saying for months, Raja’s support was likely a mile wide and an inch thick. December polls mean nothing in mid March when the real spending starts. For example, once a Black candidate and her allies start spending money, Black votes can change…
There was indeed a massive shift. Politics 101. Totally predictable. * I was talking to Christian Mitchell last night about all the Q hate from some of y’all here. And it occurred to me that maybe we should have a post where people could clear the air. It might be interesting to hear from Q’s detractors about what they think now. Have at it.
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- Alton Sinkhole - Wednesday, Mar 18, 26 @ 8:55 am:
I was one of the doubters, 100%. I was totally wrong. The patience they showed to make that late charge when they did was a thing of beauty.
I’ll take a plate of crow for breakfast.
- low level - Wednesday, Mar 18, 26 @ 9:00 am:
What else is there to say? The Stratton people ran a great race. I was wrong. Much respect.
Congrats to the people that were on the other side of my Raja Yes shares on Kalshi. They cleaned me out - lol.
- Excitable Boy - Wednesday, Mar 18, 26 @ 9:02 am:
I’m no fan of Fulks, and I think the campaign could have set Stratton apart from the pack from the jump and the race never would have been in question. But they won, by a large margin, and I’m happy Raja won’t be our next Senator. Congrats to all.
- Torco Sign - Wednesday, Mar 18, 26 @ 9:03 am:
Good win for Stratton. Fulks still whiffed on people liking taxes and being comfortable with trans athletes. That’s a bigger problem for 2028, and a victory in Illinois that didn’t deal with those issues at all is only going to make a certain faction of strategists dig in.
- hisgirlfriday - Wednesday, Mar 18, 26 @ 9:07 am:
I was extremely skeptical of Stratton being able to overtake Raja given how comparatively late her campaign started airing ads and really ramping up.
I was wrong and it looks like she peaked at just the right time.
Congrats to the pros who got it right.
- Lincoln Lad - Wednesday, Mar 18, 26 @ 9:07 am:
I always saw it as a win at any cost strategy. It was a win, but that win carries a cost. I am a diehard dem supporter. But I am less of one today as a result of the campaign. I think some support, both donors and ultimately voters have similar doubts.
- Tanya - Wednesday, Mar 18, 26 @ 9:12 am:
Does anyone think that the Governor may have stumbled on to a No Kings problem?
From a Politico article today entitled “King of Illinois: Pritzker swings Senate race” today: “Seventy-three percent of her donations came from one family,” Kelly said Tuesday afternoon, referring to Pritzker’s financial backing of Stratton.”
I think Stratton was an incredibly inspirational candidate that will be a true ground breaker and leader in Washington, DC. The Gov’s team is also doing a great job at addressing this concern but progressive Dems and Repubs may try to keep this issue alive.
- Grandson of Man - Wednesday, Mar 18, 26 @ 9:13 am:
Even though the Fair Tax campaign started late, there were still many commercials. Voters clearly and repeatedly saw that they would get tax cuts. Many voted no for fear their taxes would increase, yet they are paying higher taxes now. That most definitely is not Fulks’ fault. Congrats to him and LG Stratton.
- Norseman - Wednesday, Mar 18, 26 @ 9:13 am:
Not in tune enough to know the name, but I confess a thought that the big push was coming late. Well done.
- H-W - Wednesday, Mar 18, 26 @ 9:22 am:
Alton Sinkhole +1
I am learning a lot from this blog.
- Arsenal - Wednesday, Mar 18, 26 @ 9:29 am:
I don’t think Fulks- or Stratton, for that matter- ran a very good campaign. But “I don’t have to outrun the bear, I just have to outrun you.” Ultimately, Raja’s message was nothing more than “My name is Raja” and Kelly’s message was nothing more than “Stratton’s ads are unfair.”
- Former Downstater - Wednesday, Mar 18, 26 @ 9:35 am:
==The Gov’s team is also doing a great job at addressing this concern but progressive Dems and Repubs may try to keep this issue alive.==
I’m one of the progressives who as a general rule hates billionaires and their outsized influence in politics. But I have made peace with the fact Pritzker is both a billionaire and someone who uses his money for influence.
Fact is, the way the system is set up, some body or some organization is always going to use their money to denominate every important race everywhere. The difference? Pritzker has shown himself as someone who uses his money to push causes and candidates that benefit us. If someone is going to do this anyway, we might as well back someone who actually cares about and supports the issues we also care about.
It’s basically a “don’t hate the player, hate the game situation.” We hate the game, but Pritzker has shown himself to be a good, ethical player.
This is all basically a long way of saying I don’t think the “billionaire/king maker” argument will be as effective here with progressives as it normally would.
- John Garvey - Wednesday, Mar 18, 26 @ 9:35 am:
Not a subscriber, but I think it is a mistake to leave out Senator Durban’s role. He also gave 5 mil to the Stratton campaign & the Springfield area went for Stratton (at least in my initial glance of her votes). Please correct me if I’m mistaken.
- Rudy’s teeth - Wednesday, Mar 18, 26 @ 9:38 am:
Raja’s ads on YouTube were so annoying, inundating, and pervasive that I couldn’t vote for him as a candidate. The message of Me, Me, Me was a huge detriment. Badgering voters is not a recipe for success.
- The Carpenter - Wednesday, Mar 18, 26 @ 9:48 am:
Q deserves his flowers for this one, true. However, its a little weird that we are on the cusp of electing only our 2nd black woman to the Senate and the first post about it here is, “here’s everyone’s chance to thank the man who did it.”
- Stephanie Kollmann - Wednesday, Mar 18, 26 @ 9:50 am:
== I think it is a mistake to leave out Senator Durban’s role. He also gave 5 mil to the Stratton campaign==
???
I have not heard anything like this
- JS Mill - Wednesday, Mar 18, 26 @ 9:51 am:
I don’t have a dog in the fight but the results of the campaign thus far cannot be argued. I am going to assume that Stratton will win the general as well. So maybe Fulks knows a little something after all.
=Pritzker has shown himself as someone who uses his money to push causes and candidates that benefit us.=
I don’t benefit from some of his more progressive causes, but they don’t hurt me either. But you are correct, Pritzker has proven to care about people and not work to hurt anyone. For the billionaire class that is pretty unique right now.
- Three Dimensional Checkers - Wednesday, Mar 18, 26 @ 10:04 am:
I don’t know or hate Fulks, and my opinions probably do not matter much. But I can see not going on air earlier hurting more for the CA than in this election. There seems to be a difference between a primary between 3 similar candidates and a major policy issue. More calcified opinions about the CA. The voters spoke too, and you can only blame a campaign manager so much.
- Loop Lady - Wednesday, Mar 18, 26 @ 10:06 am:
Congrats to Stratton and the Gov.
I still can’t think of anything she has done to qualify as the next US
Senator from IL.
Please enlighten me Stratton supporters.