Democratic Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton vowed to serve as a check on President Donald Trump while Republican Don Tracy largely defended the president’s positions in their only face-to-face meeting in the race to succeed retiring Democratic U.S. Senator Dick Durbin.
Capitol News Illinois reports that in the hourlong WTTW forum Tuesday evening, Stratton stuck to the progressive message that helped her win the Democratic nomination against more moderate primary opponents. She repeatedly tied Tracy to Trump policies that she said have driven up the cost of living.
Tracy labeled Stratton as a tax-and-spend liberal and accused her of being a Democratic socialist. He presented himself as a pragmatic conservative and suggested that Stratton was too focused on Trump.

