Don Tracy Congratulates Stratton, Urges Illinois Republicans to Keep Fighting
After conceding the U.S. Senate race and congratulating Juliana Stratton, Tracy urged supporters to remain active in advocating for working families, lower costs and safer communities.
SPRINGFIELD — Don Tracy tonight accepted the results of the U.S. Senate election and congratulated Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton on her victory. In remarks to supporters, Tracy said the campaign’s core mission of advocating for lower costs, safer communities, and a government that answers to all 102 Illinois counties does not end with the ballots.
“Although very disappointed, I congratulate Lt. Governor Stratton on her victory,” Tracy said. “The work of being a voice for working families, however, does not end when the ballots are counted. Those families still need an advocate for common sense solutions, lower costs and safer communities. And that fight continues.”
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Tracy thanked his wife Wanda, daughters Liz and Jaclyn, and the rest of his family for their support throughout the campaign. He also expressed gratitude to the hundreds of Republican officials, organizations, volunteers, and donors who stood with the campaign, noting that many put their names on the line because they believe Illinois needs a voice in Washington that represents the entire state.
“I thank the hundreds of Republican officials and organizations throughout Illinois who endorsed this campaign and actively supported us,” Tracy said. “From Congress to the Statehouse to county courthouses to local offices, your support was great. You didn’t have to put your names on the line. You did it because you believe Illinois needs a voice in DC that answers to all 102 counties, not just one.”
Tracy has a long record of leadership in the Illinois Republican Party, both as a major donor and as former ILGOP Chairman. He said that work, supporting candidates, building infrastructure, and elevating voices outside Chicago, began long before this Senate race and will continue.
“I am proud of the work I have done for the Illinois Republican Party… work that began long before this campaign,” Tracy said. “As Chairman of the ILGOP, I worked to rebuild the Party, to support candidates who would actually show up and make the case, and to ensure that the voices of downstate, central, and suburban Illinois were no longer afterthoughts in a state too often defined by Chicago. And when the moment came, I put my own name on the ballot… None of that was about me. It was about electing more Republicans to deliver lower costs, safer communities, and a government that answers to all 102 counties instead of just one. And that work continues.”
Tracy emphasized the larger stakes for Illinois. “I said many times on the campaign trail that a one-party state is an unhealthy state. Rebuilding a competitive two-party system is essential if we want accountability, better ideas, and a government that has to earn the support of working families.”
He urged volunteers and supporters, especially those for whom this was their first campaign, to stay involved despite the setbacks that come with competing in a heavily Democratic state.
“Don’t lose that passion. Don’t become discouraged. Please stay involved, despite the many setbacks in blue Illinois, as I have. Keep working for what you believe in. If not gamed, the pendulum usually swings back to the other side. And never forget that the things worth fighting for are rarely easy.”
Quoting Abraham Lincoln: “I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live by the light that I have,” and Winston Churchill: “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts,” Tracy closed by recommitting to the principles of individual liberty, free enterprise, and limited government.
“The American Dream is still worth defending,” he said. “It has been built on hard work, family, and the simple idea that government should serve the people, not the other way around. My belief in that ideal is still strong on this election night as I hope yours is; as is my belief that public service is an honorable calling.”
Tracy said he will continue supporting candidates and causes that put working families first, whether from the front lines or the sidelines, and called on Illinois Republicans to keep making the case for common sense solutions.
About Don Tracy:
Don is Senior Counsel at Brown, Hay & Stephens, the oldest law firm in Illinois, where Abraham Lincoln famously practiced law as a young lawyer. Public service is important to Don, with a lifetime spent in community service, most often in volunteer positions. He has served as Chairman of the Illinois Republican Party, Chairman of the Illinois Gaming Board, Secretary of the Illinois Bar Foundation, President of the Sangamon County Bar Association, Chairman of the Illinois Corporate Acts Advisory Committee, President of the Abraham Lincoln Association, and President of the Oak Ridge Cemetery Board, among other community leadership positions. Born in Urbana in Eastern Illinois, raised in Mt. Sterling in Western Illinois, and having raised his own family in Springfield in Central Illinois, Don has deep ties to Illinois. As the oldest of 12 children, family has always been important to Don.
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