Robin Kelly

Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton will succeed retiring Sen. Dick Durbin in the upper chamber of Congress, NBC News now projects.

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Stratton, who defeated several high-profile candidates including Reps. Robin Kelly and Raja Krishnamoorthi in the March primary, knocked off former Illinois Republican Party Chairman Don Tracy in the general election, paving the way for her to head to Washington.

Stratton has spent the last eight years as Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker’s lieutenant governor, and the governor ultimately backed her effort to run for Senate, giving her one of her highest-profile endorsements in the lead-up to the primary.

In her campaign for Senate, Stratton was a strong advocate for further raising the minimum wage to $25 per hour. During her time as lieutenant governor, the state increased its minimum wage to $15 per hour, but now she has pledged to work to do so at the federal level.

Stratton also made it clear she hoped to serve as a check on the administration of President Donald Trump, and pushed back strongly against numerous policy objectives for the administration, including calling for the abolishing of ICE.

“It is a priority, because we are still seeing ICE terrorize our communities,” she said.

Stratton will be seated in the Senate on January 3, where she hopes to be part of a Democratic majority, as the party has targeted potential seat pick-ups in North Carolina, Ohio, Iowa, Texas and more.