Illinois Democrats' Wild Primary: Cash, Chaos, and New Faces

0:00From the Daily News Now Network, this is Corey, with the story with Durham News today. Illinois Democrats picked five fresh faces as nominees for congressional seats on Tuesday night. These open races are expected to stay and Democratic hands come fall. The primaries wrapped a wild season with massive cash flow, about $70 million from outside groups and $54 million from campaigns across five contests for Senate and House Buts. A wave of retirements shook things up. Senator Dick Durbin bowed out of a six-term last year, pulling in two House members to chase his seat. That plus three Chicago area representative stepping down left over a quarter of the state's House seats vacant, the most in at least seven decades. Folks in Illinois aren't used to this kind of chaos. The state leans toward old school machine politics, not packed fields, and big money brawls. Still, the cash poured in, topping many national races. The Senate primary alone saw more than $34 million in outside spending, outpacing nine

1:04general election fights this year. Crypto, artificial intelligence packs, and others like one tied to Governor J.B. Pritzker dropped over $10 million each in spots. Advocacy groups for Israel spent millions too. In four House primaries, outsiders outspin candidates combined, a rare twist seen in just a handful of federal races nationwide. Some key players like affordable Chicago now boosted winners, but haven't named donors yet. More details will surface after filing deadlines later this month, setting the stage for November's general elections. This episode is proudly sponsored by our partner. Headphones in a pillow, simple idea, surprisingly addictive, S-O-L-I-S-O-L-P-L-O-D-C-A-I.