SPRINGFIELD — Lt. Gov Juliana Stratton’s struggling U.S. Senate campaign finally received some long-awaited air support from an outside political action committee with ties to Gov. JB Pritzker — though a lapse in federal disclosure requirements briefly grounded the effort.

Illinois Future PAC, established last year to support Stratton’s candidacy, launched its first ad on Friday. The 30-second spot highlights Stratton’s status as Pritzker’s governing partner and casts her as someone who will “take the fight to Washington to pass ‘Medicare for all’ and tax the rich.” The “seven-figure” buy will run on television and digital platforms.

But within hours of its launch, the PAC had to update the ad after Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi’s campaign noted it appeared to violate federal campaign finance law by failing to disclose that it was not authorized by Stratton or her campaign. The ad also did not display a street address, phone number or website for the PAC, as required by law.

Krishnamoorthi’s campaign also highlighted similarities between the fonts used by the PAC and Stratton’s campaign, suggesting that the ad could mislead voters into believing  there to be an official relationship between the two. While PACs may raise unlimited sums from corporations, unions, associations and individuals to advocate for or against a specific candidate, they cannot coordinate directly with a candidate’s campaign.

In a letter to television stations, Krishnamoorthi’s campaign said they “had an obligation to cease airing this advertisement immediately” and signaled their intent to file a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission.

Jordan Abudayyeh, a spokesperson for Illinois Future PAC, said in a statement Friday afternoon that “the disclaimer in the ad has been updated, and the advertisement will continue to run without interruption.”

“It is no surprise that Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi would prefer voters not hear about Juliana’s proven record of delivering results for the people of Illinois,” Abudayyeh said. “Nothing in the advertisement misrepresents that record.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Krishnamoorthi campaign spokesperson Hannah Goss characterized the PAC’s need to update their ad as a “abject failure.”

“Juliana Stratton’s dark money super PAC — which hasn’t disclosed a single donor — was forced to take its ad off TV because it broke the law, misled Illinois voters, and they got caught,” Goss said.

Krishnamoorthi has polling lead

Stratton, Krishnamoorthi and Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Lynwood, are the three major contenders in the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate seat held by retiring Sen. Dick Durbin.

Though Stratton has big-name endorsements from Pritzker, Sen. Tammy Duckworth and groups like EMILY’s List, which supports pro-abortion rights Democratic women, her campaign has struggled to break through.

Stratton, a first-time federal candidate, has been at a significant financial disadvantage to Krishnamoorthi, who began the race last year with more than $18 million in his campaign account and has subsequently raised more than $3 million in the past three fundraising quarters. Kelly, in Congress for more than a decade, also started with an advantage, and had nearly $2 million banked as of last October. Stratton reported having just $919,774 at the end of the last fundraising quarter.

Krishnamoorthi’s robust war chest has allowed the Schaumburg Democrat to run television and digital ads nonstop since last July while Stratton and Kelly have been left in the dark.

A recent Emerson College poll placed Krishnamoorthi far ahead with 31% support compared with Stratton’s 10% and Kelly’s 8%. Still, nearly half of those polled were undecided despite Krishnamoorthi’s significant advantage in name recognition.

Stratton’s campaign has long contended that the sheer amount of undecided voters gives them an opening if they can increase her name recognition with voters.

The most likely vehicle for this would be through an outside PAC, which can accept unlimited campaign donations versus the strict restrictions placed on candidate committees. And many believe that this could be a way for Pritzker, a billionaire who’s already donated the maximum $7,500 directly to Stratton’s campaign, to contribute in a much larger way.

Enter Illinois Future PAC, which launched in September and is headed by Quentin Fulks —  Pritzker’s 2018 deputy campaign manager and a top official in Vice President Kamala Harris’ 2024 presidential campaign.

The PAC declined to disclose how much money it’s raised and how much Pritzker — or anyone else — has donated.

Stratton was a first-term state lawmaker when Pritzker picked her to be his running mate during the 2018 election. She’s served as his No. 2 for two terms.

Early voting begins Feb. 5 and the primary election is March 17.

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.