Calling himself a “first-generation kid” who can stand up to bullies, U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi has jumped into the highly competitive race to succeed Sen. Dick Durbin.
Krishnamoorthi, a Democrat who has represented Chicago’s northwest suburbs in the 8th Congressional District since 2017, announced his Senate bid in a video announcement Wednesday morning. His candidacy comes a day after his House colleague, Rep. Robin Kelly, announced that she’s also seeking the seat. Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton quickly jumped into the race last month, a day after Durbin announced he wouldn’t be seeking reelection.
“I spent my life standing up to bullies, fighting for everyday people. I’m Raja Krishnamoorthi, a first-generation kid, son of Peoria public schools with parents who were able to use food stamps and public housing to move us into the middle class,” he says in the video. “...I’ll never be quiet while billionaires like Elon Musk and a convicted felon deny the dreams of the next generation for their own egos and personal profit.”
Krishnamoorthi, 51, is the son of Indian parents, and was raised in Peoria. The Harvard Law School graduate clerked for a federal judge before practicing law in Chicago. He became the first South Asian American in history to lead a congressional committee when he became a ranking member of the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party.
The political dominoes are now in place for other Democrats to run in Krishnamoorthi’s district, as well as Kelly’s 2nd Congressional District. And if Rep. Lauren Underwood also opts to run for the Senate, Democrats are already lining up to run in the 14th District.
In a Sun-Times interview, Krishnamoorthi laughed when asked whether he feels either annoyed or proud of the repetitive mentions of the $19 million and counting campaign war chest he has amassed.
“I think it’s a sideshow. I think that I’m most proud of the tent. The fact that tens of thousands of people have entrusted me with their hard-earned money because they believe in my office. They believe in my mission,” Krishnamoorthi said. “...I think people have seen that. They have entrusted me with resources to pursue that mission. And in light of Elon Musk and the unprecedented amount of money that he has kind of unleashed into the system, I look forward to having the resources to be able to defend my track record and be able to get our message out as well.”
President Donald Trump saw a big bump in Illinois support in last year’s general election, including in Krishnamoorthi’s district, where 47% supported Trump. The representative said he’ll be seeking their votes and focusing on economic issues, something he believes Democrats failed in communicating last year.
“You have to go and talk to them, listen to them. You have to meet them where they are economically and address their economic station in life,” Krishnamoorthi said. “Because I believe that is something that we didn’t do enough of, certainly at the national level in the last election. I think that if you address where they are economically, then they’ll listen to you on other issues.”
Krishnamoorthi, who served as policy director for Barack Obama’s 2004 campaign for the U.S. Senate, features a picture with Obama in his announcement video, saying he first ran for Congress because he was “inspired by Barack’s example.”
When asked if he’d seek Obama’s endorsement for the Senate seat, the congressman said he hasn’t spoken to the former president recently, but he plans to reach out. Obama endorsed Krishnamoorthi’s first congressional run.
“I think that what I learned from that [2004 campaign] is, you need to work your tail off to earn the endorsement of the people that most matter, and that’s the voters,” Krishnamoorthi said. “You have to earn their endorsement, and you have to travel everywhere in Illinois and you have to make sure that you listen to them, and you address what is ailing them, what’s bothering them, what’s preventing them, what’s frustrating them. And I also learned that the people of Illinois are a good people, and they don’t care about the color of your skin and how many letters are in your name.”
