As the Democratic Party wrestles with how much to focus on President Donald Trump on the campaign trail, one Senate candidate is giving a clear answer: “F--- Trump.”
Juliana Stratton, the state’s lieutenant governor, is running her first TV ad beginning Friday, a spot featuring a series of people, including Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., all saying “F--- Trump.”
“F--- Trump, vote Juliana,” one person after another says in the ad.
At least half a dozen bleeps will be audible to obscure the salty language when it airs on TV, according to the campaign.
For her part, Stratton does not take part in the cursing.
“They said it, not me,” Stratton says as she appears on the screen.
With the state’s primary less than a month away and Stratton trailing Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi in early polling, fundraising and airtime, the ad is an attention-grabbing gambit. Some Democratic strategists have pushed the party to curse more, as a way to convey more frank talk.
It's unclear how effective the ad will be in luring potential voters.
Stratton has the backing of billionaire Gov. JB Pritzker. But so far, she and another top candidate, Rep. Robin Kelly, have been unable to close the gap with Krishnamoorthi. Early voting is already underway for the March 17 primary.
The Republican National Committee had its own harsh words in response to the "F--- Trump" posture.
“Juliana Stratton is a defund-the-police radical who would rather let criminals run rampant than make Chicago safer,” Republican National Committee spokeswoman Delanie Bomar said in a statement, charging that Stratton “ignores crime.”
The ad comes as Democrats nationally have discussed how much to focus their messaging on Trump specifically while on the campaign trail. In the contest, which seeks to fill the seat of retiring Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin, candidates are taking the route of invoking Trump.
Weeks ago, Krishnamoorthi aired an ad that focused on the idea of holding Trump accountable and featured scenes of immigration agents acting aggressively with protesters and observers.
“I fight Trump every day,” Krishnamoorthi says in the spot as he calls for abolishing “Trump’s ICE.”
Kelly's ads have also homed in on the Trump administration, highlighting her proposal to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Stratton’s message, too, is that she will battle Trump, abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and push to hold officials responsible who have violated the law under his administration.
Krishnamoorthi has amassed an enormous campaign war chest, spending $23.5 million on ads through mid-February, according to the ad-tracking firm AdImpact. By comparison, Kelly spent $212,000 and Stratton spent $69,000 in that same time frame.
Pritzker, who endorsed Stratton for Senate and helped fund the PAC that bolstered her campaign, has a cameo at the end of the Stratton ad but refrains from cursing. This is the first ad the Stratton campaign has itself funded, while a super PAC backing her has previously aired commercials. Pritzker gave $5 million to that super PAC, and his cousin Jennifer Pritzker and her spouse gave another $1.1 million.
More TV spending is on the way, with early bookings from Friday through March 2 from the pro-Stratton Illinois Future PAC at $1.9 million, Krishnamoorthi at about $955,000, Kelly at $355,000 and Stratton's campaign at $211,000.
