Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton (left), the Democrat nominee for U.S. Senate, and former U.S. Sen. Carol Moseley Braun (right), who served Illinois from 1993 to 1999. | Illinois Office of the Lieutenant Governor; U.S. Senate Historical Office
Illinois U.S. Senate candidate Juliana Stratton has turned down nearly every debate and interview request of the general election, prompting comparisons to Carol Moseley Braun, the last Illinois Democrat to embarrass the state on the way to the Senate.
Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton (left), the Democrat nominee for U.S. Senate, and former U.S. Sen. Carol Moseley Braun (right), who served Illinois from 1993 to 1999. | Illinois Office of the Lieutenant Governor; U.S. Senate Historical Office
Illinois U.S. Senate candidate Juliana Stratton has turned down nearly every debate and interview request of the general election, prompting comparisons to Carol Moseley Braun, the last Illinois Democrat to embarrass the state on the way to the Senate.
Stratton, the Democrat lieutenant governor running to succeed Sen. Dick Durbin, has deliberately avoided policy in her campaign, repeatedly posting “dancing videos” on TikTok, Facebook and Instagram while refusing debate and forum invitations extended by news organizations and civic groups.
CBS 2 Chicago, Fox 32 Chicago, the League of Women Voters of Peoria, the Illinois Farm Bureau, the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association, the Technology and Manufacturing Association and the Illinois Municipal League all sought to host a debate between Stratton and her Republican opponent, Don Tracy.
Tracy accepted every one of them.
Stratton agreed to just one, a forum hosted by Democrat-friendly Chicago PBS affiliate WTTW set for October 20, weeks after early voting begins in Illinois.
She also declined an interview request from The Center Square in July.
Dancing videos instead of interviews
Instead of interviews, Stratton has frequently posted photos and videos of herself dancing on social media.
Juliana Stratton hasn’t conducted public interviews, but she has frequently published photos of herself dancing on social media. (Facebook)
Stratton campaigned in multiple primary debates earlier this year, but only against fellow Democrats who largely agreed with her on the issues.
The “F— Trump” ad
The debate avoidance follows an episode that gave Stratton her widest public exposure of the race.
In February, Stratton released her first general-election television ad, opening with six people, including U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, exclaiming “F— Trump.”
Gov. JB Pritzker, who has endorsed Stratton, made a cameo in the same ad.
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Editorial note: Who needs debates when she’s guaranteed union votes?