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Democratic voters in<\/span> Illinois\u2019 9th Congressional District chose Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss as their nominee to replace retiring Rep. Jan Schakowsky Tuesday night, dealing a simultaneous defeat to progressives who rallied behind Palestinian American activist Kat Abughazaleh and pro-Israel interests that pushed to elect state Sen. Laura Fine.<\/p>\n Biss\u2019s victory came amid mixed results for outside spending groups representing pro-Israel, artificial intelligence, and cryptocurrency interests \u2014 with crypto regulation supporter and state Rep. La Shawn Ford winning in the 7th Congressional District while the American Israel Public Affairs Committee\u2019s favored candidates, Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller and former Rep. Melissa Bean, won in the 2nd and 8th. In the closely watched Senate race, Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton received AIPAC\u2019s congratulations<\/a> for her win over Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi and Robin Kelly.<\/p>\n With five open House seats and one open Senate seat heavily favored for Democrats<\/a>, the Illinois primaries presented a test for the future of the party \u2014 and became a top target for outside groups that poured more than $50 million<\/a> into races throughout the state. The infusion of outside cash included more than $35 million in spending from groups linked to the AIPAC and the cryptocurrency and AI industries.\u00a0<\/p>\n Dozens of super PACs in Illinois sought to influence the competitive Democratic primaries, often while concealing both their donors and broader intentions. In the 9th District, AIPAC used groups with uncontroversial titles like \u201cElect Chicago Women<\/a>\u201d and \u201cChicago Progressive Partnership<\/a>\u201d to boost its pick, Fine<\/a>, and pit progressive candidates against one another. The spending appeared to come up short Tuesday night, when Fine finished in third.<\/p>\n The groups\u2019 competing ads at times inflamed and at times distracted from voter concerns over civil liberties, the economy, bipartisan fealty to corporations and wealthy donors, and now the unfolding war in Iran.<\/p>\n The Illinois primaries presented a test for AIPAC in particular, which with its affiliated groups spent more than $22 million in races in and around deep-blue Chicago while obscuring the pro-Israel lobby\u2019s involvement amid growing criticism<\/a>. In several races, AIPAC donors<\/a> have funneled<\/a> money to candidates<\/a> where it did not officially endorse, including in the U.S. Senate race<\/a>, The Intercept reported.\u00a0<\/p>\n The crypto industry spent more than $13 million<\/a> in Illinois races through the super PAC Fairshake, including close to $10 million against Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton in the Senate race and more than $3 million<\/a> in two races attacking candidates who have voted for consumer protection regulations on cryptocurrency. The AI industry poured in another $2.5 million into two House races.<\/p>\n Detailed results from the Senate race and the 2nd, 7th, 8th, and 9th districts are below.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton defeated Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi and Robin Kelly in the highly anticipated Democratic primary to replace retiring Sen. Dick Durbin. The often bitter race was defined by debates over dark money, establishment endorsements, and race and identity.\u00a0<\/p>\n Stratton won just shy of 40 percent of the vote in the crowded 10-way race. While AIPAC publicly stayed out of the contest, suggesting that the group had become politically toxic with Democratic primary voters, reporting from The Intercept<\/a> found that at least 27 AIPAC donors gave to Stratton\u2019s campaign. <\/p>\n On Tuesday night, AIPAC publicly congratulated Stratton for her primary win over Kelly, writing on X<\/a> that Kelly\u2019s \u201cmost recent actions have undermined the U.S.-Israel alliance,\u201d and that the group looks \u201cforward to continuing our long-standing partnership\u201d with Stratton.<\/p>\n Neither Stratton nor Krishnamoorthi have called Israel\u2019s actions in Gaza a genocide or said they would push to condition aid to Israel, as Kelly repeatedly pointed out in her attempts to carve out a lane to their left.\u00a0<\/p>\n Stratton\u2019s victory does represent an early defeat for the crypto industry, which spent millions against her candidacy. The industry\u2019s main PAC, Fairshake, spent nearly $10 million<\/a> against Stratton, in a move that likely favored Krishnamoorthi. The Illinois congressman is known as a top fundraiser, with a massive $30 million war chest.\u00a0<\/p>\n In addition to concerns over the influence of money in politics, the race was also plagued by questions over the role of establishment endorsements. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker<\/a> endorsed Stratton, his longtime running mate, and donated $5 million to Stratton\u2019s super PAC, spurring controversy about the perception of establishment Democrats throwing around their political weight.\u00a0<\/p>\n But Stratton\u2019s most controversial endorsement of the cycle was an alleged posthumous endorsement from the late Rev. Jesse Jackson<\/a>, whose family later said he did not come to a decision about the race before his death.<\/p>\n The fight for support from Black voters was already a highly contentious issue within the primary, with concerns that Kelly and Stratton, who are both Black, would split the Black electorate in Illinois. Kelly took offense to those comments, arguing at a recent campaign event<\/a> that \u201cno one talks\u201d about spoilers \u201cwhen two white men are running.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Illinois has not sent a Republican to the Senate since the 1990s, and Stratton is expected to easily win her general election in November.\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\nSenate: After Laying Low, AIPAC Congratulates Stratton<\/h2>\n