Elections have consequences.
And there are myriad examples of what those consequences look like just this week. See the above graphic for example number one in this newsletter.
But, before we get to the consequences – which should be obvious to everyone – let’s look at some election data.
This year’s turnout is being heralded by the legacy media as “surging” for “high stakes” races and that “Chicago set early voting turnout record.”
It’s actually a pretty pathetic turnout, even though it’s higher than the 2022 midterms, when you consider how high the stakes are, putting people in charge of making policies that can affect every aspect of your life.
Preliminary numbers show a 26% turnout of voters across Illinois for the 2026 primary election. That is up from 22% turnout in 2022. The entire increase in voter participation is due to more Democrats showing up to cast a vote in some very highly contested races for Senate, Cook County Board president, and select U.S. House seats. The Democratic race for U.S. Senate was undoubtedly the most expensive primary race this go around, with over $63 million spent supporting or opposing the top three candidates.
Graphic from AP article titled, Where big spending won – and lost – in the Illinois primary
The AP article also noted that a total of $125 million was spent to influence 5 races.
“It turns out it takes about $125 million to reshape a congressional delegation.
On Tuesday night, Illinois Democrats ushered in a new generation of lawmakers, picking five new nominees for Congress in open seats that are favored to remain in Democratic hands this fall.
But it came at the end of a messy, expensive primary season, with around $70 million in spending from outside groups and $54 million in campaign spending across five competitive races for open U.S. Senate and House seats.”
It’s no surprise then that Democrat voter turnout was way up compared to four years ago. Money drives awareness and turnout.
Looking at just the number of voters in the U.S. Senate primary race, in 2022 815,694 voters cast a ballot in the Democrat primary. In 2026, that number is 1,210,853 – a 48.4% increase.
On the Republican side, the opposite happened. Very little money was spent in the U.S. Senate race and the Gubernatorial race. While I found no article detailing the money as the AP did in the Democrat races, I am familiar with the Republican spend and can safely say that it is likely less than $1 million in total was spent in the Republican race for Senate, and less than $5 million was spent among the four candidates in the Republican race for governor.
Consequently, awareness of the Republican candidates and the contrasts they present was very low, and turnout was abysmal. Again, just looking at the U.S. Senate race for comparison, in 2022, 779,070 Republican voters cast a ballot in the primary. In 2026, only 532,536 did so – a 32% drop off in voter participation.
The gubernatorial numbers are a bit different: 797,029 Republican votes were cast in the 2022 primary, and only 561,349 in2 2026.
I was helping Ted Dabrowski with his campaign. This chart gives you an idea of the drop-off in votes in the most populous counties and also the drop in support for Darren Bailey. Now, hopefully that support comes back in the general.
Who Is Juliana Stratton?
Every election matters. Now, the Democrats have to live with their choice in Juliana Stratton – bankrolled by JB Pritzker – to see if general election voters want to send the foul-mouthed, defund ICE candidate to the U.S. Senate so she can continue to shutdown DHS, allow men to compete in women’s sports – Democrats voted against a bill protecting women’s sports just last week – give illegals amnesty, pack the supreme court, and otherwise put in radical progressive policies.
Stratton came to fame as the candidate selected by Mike Madigan in 2016 to run against Ken Dunkin, who refused to show up to vote to override a pro-union bill that Rauner had vetoed. Madigan needed every member there, and Ken sat it out. That earned Ken a primary challenge from Madigan because no one defies King Madigan.
Madigan even called in a favor during the race from Barack Obama, who, as a sitting President, cut a commercial on behalf of Stratton in that primary race. Link to the commercial is HERE
Stratton is so dishonest that she used a line from that Obama TV ad from 2016 in a radio ad for 2026 to make it seem like Obama was with her. That’s who Stratton is. Now she could be your U.S. Senator.
She was a back-bencher state rep for just a few months before Pritzker picked her, based on race and gender, to be his running mate for the 2018 governor race. She’s done nothing notable in the position as lieutenant governor – but that’s not surprising as most in that position don’t do anything.
After her primary victory, the DEI narrative began immediately, with Stratton herself proud that she could join the ranks of just five other Black women to have ever been elected to the U.S. Senate. Let’s hope Republican Don Tracy defeats her. It’s not about race or gender. It’s about character and policies.
One more note – The Chicago Tribune editorial board wrote a shameful, dishonest opinion on what Republicans have done wrong and why they can’t win. I picked it apart in a Facebook Live, which can be viewed at this link:
On to consequences…
This is not a hard concept – as a very good friend of mine has said repeatedly – politicians are nothing more than the means to a policy end. When they stop making prudent policies, they need to be changed out.
Sheridan Gorman from her Instagram
Elections Have Consequences – Example Number Two
Politicians make policy, so who you elect matters. So who’s responsible for the horrific killing of Sheridan Gorman? Blame rests squarely on JB Pritzker and his Democrats, as the alleged killer, who police are questioning, is reportedly an illegal alien. This suspect was provided sanctuary in Illinois under Governor Pritzker.
CWB Chicago is now reporting that:
A Venezuelan migrant is in custody and being questioned in connection with the murder of Loyola University freshman Sheridan Gorman at the Loyola Beach pier early Thursday morning, according to multiple sources.
The 25-year-old man was arrested shortly before 9 p.m. Friday at an apartment building in the 6800 block of North Sheridan Road during the execution of a search warrant related to the case, sources said. A firearm was recovered during the search and is being tested to determine whether a shell casing found near Gorman’s body was ejected from the weapon.
In a subsequent article, CWB Chicago says that the suspect had a previous arrest for retail theft, was “released from custody “by rule of the court,” a cash bail-era procedure by which people charged with non-violent crimes were released on their own recognizance.” He failed to appear for his next court date or the next one. An arrest warrant was then issued, but the man was never caught.
The Sun-Times is in hot water, having released a headline that Sheridan Gorman’s murder was a result of Wrong Place, Wrong Time.
The family pushed back, stating,
“She was exactly where she should have been — close to campus, surrounded by friends, living her life,” the family said, noting she and her friends had gone to the lakefront hoping to see the Northern Lights. “What happened to Sheridan cannot be reduced to the idea of someone being in the wrong place at the wrong time. This is not an abstraction. This is the loss of a daughter. The loss of a sister. The loss of a future filled with milestones that will now never come. Our family is forever changed.”
The legacy media is to blame, too. Idiotic headlines like this one from the Sun-Times re-victimize the victim and those with her at the time of the murder. It’s so callous.
So far, there has been no response to the horrific killing by Gov. Pritzker. He has instead posted on his X account about basketball, film credits, and protecting the “trans” community from President Trump.
So pathetic. Crickets from Chicago Mayor Johnson, too, as another random killing of an American happens in his city. It is not hard to understand that this murder was another preventable crime. The DEMOCRAT policies of open borders, sanctuary state, no-cash bail, failure to track down criminals with arrest warrants, literally giving sustenance to illegals – all of those policies allowed the alleged killer to be here. Elections Have Consequences
The family pushed back, stating,
“She was exactly where she should have been — close to campus, surrounded by friends, living her life,” the family said, noting she and her friends had gone to the lakefront hoping to see the Northern Lights. “What happened to Sheridan cannot be reduced to the idea of someone being in the wrong place at the wrong time. This is not an abstraction. This is the loss of a daughter. The loss of a sister. The loss of a future filled with milestones that will now never come. Our family is forever changed.”
The legacy media is to blame, too. Idiotic headlines like this one from the Sun-Times re-victimize the victim and those with her at the time of the murder. It’s so callous.
So far, there has been no response to the horrific killing by Gov. Pritzker. He has instead posted on his X account about basketball, film credits, and protecting the “trans” community from President Trump.
So pathetic. Crickets from Chicago Mayor Johnson, too, as another random killing of an American happens in his city. It is not hard to understand that this murder was another preventable crime. The DEMOCRAT policies of open borders, sanctuary state, no-cash bail, failure to track down criminals with arrest warrants, literally giving sustenance to illegals – all of those policies allowed the alleged killer to be here. Elections Have Consequences