Natasha Korecki is a senior national political reporter for NBC News.
It was January, just two months until Illinois' Democratic Senate primary. And Quentin Fulks saw a critical opening. Lt. Gov Juliana Stratton and her two chief rivals had all voiced opposition to the aggressive operations of U.
S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. But Stratton made a sharp distinction; she said she wanted to abolish ICE outright, while Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi and Robin Kelly took more nuanced positions. Fulks, who led the main super PAC backing Stratton, quickly aired a TV ad promoting Stratton as the only major candidate seeking to get rid of ICE. “We beat them to the punch on that issue,” he said. “The PAC went up first.” Fulks knew from research how wildly unpopular ICE was with Democrats in the state, particularly after immigration enforcement officers wreaked havoc across Chicago and its suburbs for months in the fall of 2025. “For Juliana and the issues she was championing, that was by far the most potent issue,” Fulks said in an interview. “We found in our research that that was a really big factor” in moving voters. Fulks, who headed Illinois Future PAC, the financial engine backing Stratton — with money from Gov. JB Pritzker — talked to NBC News about the driving factors contributing to Stratton’s come-from-behind win on March 17. Fulks also helped run Pritzker's 2018 run for governor. In the 2024 presidential campaign, Fulks served as Kamala Harris' principal deputy campaign manager. Fulks, who is likely to be on the short list to run a major Democratic campaign in 2028, reflected on what lessons for the next presidential race he took from the high-profile Illinois race. He also talked about how 2024's loss weighs on him. 'Given what Donald Trump is doing to the country right now, if we had won, that wouldn't be happening to people, and you really have to take a minute, catch a breath and then sort of get back out there and keep trying to make the world a better place,' Fulks said. Stratton’s decisive win stunned some pundits who watched Krishnamoorthi hold a steady lead in the contest for months. Krishnamoorthi had begun airing television ads the previous summer and led in fundraising, while the major pro-Stratton super PAC held off until January. Pritzker, a billionaire, donated at least $5 million into Illinois Future PAC, which ultimately spent $14.8 million on ads. While a sizable sum, it still lagged Krishnamoorthi’s spending. In January, Stratton trailed Krishnamoorthi by 21 points, according to one poll at the time. But that survey also showed 46% of potential Democratic voters were undecided. “There are times where you absolutely need to start early and can tell a very good story, and then there are times where you might be able to start a little bit later or much later, and still accomplish your goal,” Fulks said. He added that he didn’t think ads would have broken through much earlier, pointing to other political developments that dominated the news — including high-profile special elections in Virginia and New Jersey — as well as voters' attention span. In the end, Stratton ended up surging at the right moment. Stratton’s position on ICE, communicating a willingness to take an aggressive posture against President Donald Trump as well as advocating for a $25/hour minimum wage, broke through, Fulks said. In the end, Stratton locked down 40% of the vote, edging out Krishnamoorthi by seven percentage points, according to NBC News results. The super PAC's internal research showed that having Pritzker's backing was influential in moving the needle with Illinois Democrats. A WGN/Emerson poll published in early January showed Pritzker held an 82% approval rating with Illinois Democrats surveyed, while 90% disapproved of Trump. 'The top testing issues for the lieutenant governor from a factual standpoint was her partnership and association with JB,' Fulks said. Stratton had swiftly announced her candidacy last year after Sen. Dick Durbin announced he would retire; Pritzker quickly endorsed her. Fulks said voters didn't tune in until closer to the March election, allowing his super PAC to hammer home that Pritzker's agenda was linked to Stratton and that the governor popular backed her. Looking forward, Fulks said the Senate race showed him that personality will likely play a big role as well as how the candidate communicates to voters. 'Folks want a mix of somebody that's fighting for them, that's standing up to Trump and that they also feel like they can just hang out with,' Fulks said. Another takeaway: Candidates will have to campaign 'in as many ways as possible,' from more staid situations to sitting with podcasters that might not match their style. 'You're going to have to put your candidates in uncomfortable positions for them to be able to effectively communicate,' he said.
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