{"id":30543,"date":"2026-02-12T13:53:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T19:53:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/?p=30543"},"modified":"2026-02-12T13:54:02","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T19:54:02","slug":"illinois-gop-senate-candidates-take-stage-in-first-major-debate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/30543-illinois-gop-senate-candidates-take-stage-in-first-major-debate\/","title":{"rendered":"Illinois GOP Senate Candidates Take Stage in First Major Debate"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"pdfprnt-buttons pdfprnt-buttons-post pdfprnt-top-right\"><a href=\"javascript: window.print()\" class=\"pdfprnt-button pdfprnt-button-print\" target=\"_self\" ><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-content\/plugins\/pdf-print\/images\/print.png\" alt=\"image_print\" title=\"Print Content\" \/><span class=\"pdfprnt-button-title pdfprnt-button-print-title\">Print<\/span><\/a><\/div><div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-12\">\n<div class=\"entry-header\">\n<h2 class=\"jeg_post_subtitle\">The three leading candidates pitched themselves as best equipped to turn the seat red<\/h2>\n<div class=\"jeg_meta_container\">\n<div class=\"jeg_post_meta jeg_post_meta_1\">\n<div class=\"meta_left\">\n<div class=\"jeg_meta_author coauthor\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"avatar avatar-80 photo\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/capitolnewsillinois.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Brenden-Moore_1080.jpg?resize=150%2C150&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/capitolnewsillinois.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Brenden-Moore_1080.jpg?resize=150%2C150&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 2x\" alt=\"Brenden Moore\" width=\"80\" height=\"80\" data-pin-no-hover=\"true\" \/><span class=\"meta_text \">by <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/capitolnewsillinois.com\/news\/author\/brenden-moore\/\">Brenden Moore<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"jeg_meta_date\">\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/capitolnewsillinois.com\/news\/illinois-gop-senate-candidates-take-stage-in-first-major-debate\/\">February 12, 2026<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"jeg_meta_category\"><span class=\"meta_text\">in<\/span>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/capitolnewsillinois.com\/news\/category\/elections\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Elections<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"meta_right\">\n<div class=\"jeg_meta_zoom\" data-in-step=\"3\" data-out-step=\"2\">\n<div class=\"zoom-dropdown\">\n<div class=\"zoom-icon\"><span class=\"zoom-icon-small\">A<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"zoom-icon-big\">A<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"jeg_featured featured_image \">\n<div class=\"thumbnail-container\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-post-image\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/capitolnewsillinois.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/260212-SENATE-GOP-SCREENSHOT-WEB.jpg?resize=1140%2C570&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"Republican candidates\" width=\"1140\" height=\"570\" data-attachment-id=\"99748\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/capitolnewsillinois.com\/news\/illinois-gop-senate-candidates-take-stage-in-first-major-debate\/260212-senate-gop-screenshot-web\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/capitolnewsillinois.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/260212-SENATE-GOP-SCREENSHOT-WEB.jpg?fit=1140%2C650&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1140,650\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"260212-SENATE-GOP-SCREENSHOT-WEB\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;Republican candidates &lt;\/p&gt; \" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Republican candidates for U.S. Senate participate in a debate hosted by hosted by ABC-7 Chicago in partnership with Univision and the League of Women Voters on Feb. 11, 2026. (Screenshot of ABC-7\u2019s debate feed) &lt;\/p&gt; \" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/capitolnewsillinois.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/260212-SENATE-GOP-SCREENSHOT-WEB.jpg?fit=300%2C171&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/capitolnewsillinois.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/260212-SENATE-GOP-SCREENSHOT-WEB.jpg?fit=1140%2C650&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1\" \/><\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Republican candidates for U.S. Senate participate in a debate hosted by hosted by ABC-7 Chicago in partnership with Univision and the League of Women Voters on Feb. 11, 2026. (Screenshot of ABC-7\u2019s debate feed)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"jeg_share_top_container\">\n<div class=\"jeg_share_button clearfix\">\n<div class=\"jeg_share_stats\">\n<div class=\"jeg_views_count\">\n<div class=\"counts\">0<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"sharetext\">VIEWS<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"jeg_sharelist\"><a class=\"jeg_btn-facebook expanded\" href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fcapitolnewsillinois.com%2Fnews%2Fillinois-gop-senate-candidates-take-stage-in-first-major-debate%2F\" rel=\"nofollow\" aria-label=\"Share on Facebook\"><i class=\"fa fa-facebook-official\"><\/i>Facebook<\/a><a class=\"jeg_btn-twitter expanded\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Illinois%20GOP%20Senate%20candidates%20take%20stage%20in%20first%20major%20debate%20via%20%40%40CapitolNewsIL&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fcapitolnewsillinois.com%2Fnews%2Fillinois-gop-senate-candidates-take-stage-in-first-major-debate%2F\" rel=\"nofollow\" aria-label=\"Share on Twitter\"><i class=\"fa fa-twitter\"><\/i>Share<\/a><a class=\"jeg_btn-reddit expanded\" href=\"https:\/\/reddit.com\/submit?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcapitolnewsillinois.com%2Fnews%2Fillinois-gop-senate-candidates-take-stage-in-first-major-debate%2F&amp;title=Illinois%20GOP%20Senate%20candidates%20take%20stage%20in%20first%20major%20debate\" rel=\"nofollow\" aria-label=\"Share on Reddit\"><i class=\"fa fa-reddit\"><\/i>Reddit<\/a><i class=\"fa fa-share\"><\/i><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"jeg_main_content col-md-8\">\n<div class=\"jeg_inner_content\">\n<div class=\"jeg_ad jeg_article jnews_content_top_ads \">\n<div class=\"ads-wrapper \"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content no-share\">\n<div class=\"jeg_share_button share-float jeg_sticky_share clearfix share-monocrhome\">\n<div class=\"jegStickyHolder\">\n<div class=\"theiaStickySidebar\">\n<div class=\"jeg_share_float_container\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"content-inner jeg_link_underline\">\n<div class=\"summary-box-gray\" role=\"complementary\" aria-label=\"Summary Box\">\n<h4><strong>Article Summary<\/strong><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>Don Tracy, Jeannie Evans and Casey Chlebek pitched themselves as best positioned to flip a Senate seat Democrats have held since 1985.<\/li>\n<li>None directly criticized President Donald Trump, but each signaled differences on tariffs and rejected his call to \u201cnationalize\u201d elections, backing voter ID while keeping election administration in state hands.<\/li>\n<li>Tracy, a former Illinois GOP chair, leads the field financially with a $2 million self-loan while Evans casts herself as a political outsider.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>This summary was written by the reporters and editors who worked on this story.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>SPRINGFIELD \u2014 If the Democratic primary to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin has been the main event in Illinois politics over the past year, the Republican contest has largely played the undercard.<\/p>\n<p>But, at least for one night, the race finally came under the bright lights.<\/p>\n<p>During an hourlong debate hosted by ABC-7 Chicago in partnership with Univision and the League of Women Voters on Wednesday evening, three candidates in the six-person field pitched themselves as best equipped to flip the seat red after more than four decades in Democratic hands.<\/p>\n<p>The candidates \u2014 information technology professional Casey Chlebek, corporate attorney Jeannie Evans and former Illinois Republican Party Chairman Don Tracy \u2014 stopped short of criticizing President Donald Trump directly but registered their disagreement with his call to \u201cnationalize\u201d voting and to his approach to tariffs.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Experience or new face?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The last Republican to hold Illinois\u2019 Class 2 U.S. Senate seat was Sen. Charles Percy, who served three terms until his defeat by then-Democratic U.S. Rep. Paul Simon in 1984. Simon was later succeeded by Durbin, who\u2019s held the seat since 1997. Sen. Mark Kirk was the last Republican to represent Illinois in the upper chamber, serving a single term from 2011 to 2017 \u2014 and losing his reelection bid to now-U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Read more:\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/capitolnewsillinois.com\/news\/pritzker-drops-5m-to-boost-lt-gov-juliana-stratton-in-senate-race\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Pritzker drops $5M to boost Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton in Senate race<\/strong><\/a><strong>\u00a0|\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/capitolnewsillinois.com\/news\/new-republican-to-run-for-illinois-governor-as-election-season-begins\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Tracy to run for Senate<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>This year, the GOP race is wide open.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/emersoncollegepolling.com\/illinois-2026-poll-krishamoorthi-leads-democratic-senate-primary-plurality-still-undecided\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">A January poll<\/a>\u00a0found that 84% of primary voters were undecided. Tracy led the field with just 6% support while no other candidate registered more than 3% support.<\/p>\n<p>Tracy, a Springfield attorney who served as party chair from 2021 to 2024, said the open contest presents a \u201cterrific opportunity\u201d for the GOP to win back a statewide office, but it \u201cwill not be easy\u201d in a state that\u2019s become safely Democratic in recent federal elections.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt will be an uphill dog fight because the Democrats will have a lot more money than the Republican candidate,\u201d Tracy, an unsuccessful 2010 GOP candidate for lieutenant governor, said. \u201cAnd for that reason, it is certainly no job for a political novice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Tracy is mostly self-funding his campaign, having loaned himself $2 million in August. He had roughly the same amount on hand at the beginning of the year, according to federal campaign finance reports, placing him far above the other candidates in the race.<\/p>\n<p>Evans, a Chicago attorney who specializes in anti-trust law, was his closest competitor, starting the year with nearly $300,000 on hand after raising more than $500,000, about 80% of it self-funded.<\/p>\n<p>Chlebek, a native of Poland who immigrated to the United States as a teenager in the late 1960s, was an unsuccessful candidate for the GOP nominations for U.S. Senate in 2020 and 2022. He\u2019s self-funded to the tune of about $100,000.<\/p>\n<p>Unlike Tracy and Chlebek, Evans\u2019 name has never appeared on the ballot before. She used that to cast herself as the \u201cpolitical outsider\u201d in the race.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s time for a fresh face of the Republican Party in Illinois,\u201d Evans said. \u201cI am ready to work hard to motivate people with conservative values across our entire state to come out to vote in November.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3><strong>The issues<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>None of the three candidates directly answered when asked to identify an area in which they disagreed with Trump, who has lost Illinois by double-digit margins in three consecutive elections.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/emersoncollegepolling.com\/illinois-2026-poll-krishamoorthi-leads-democratic-senate-primary-plurality-still-undecided\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">A recent poll<\/a>\u00a0placed Trump\u2019s overall approval rating at just 39% in Illinois, though 84% of Republican voters approved of his job performance.<\/p>\n<p>However, disagreements with the president emerged when specific topics came up.<\/p>\n<p>Evans said tariffs imposed by Trump \u201cachieved some good results\u201d but acknowledged that she\u2019s \u201ca free market economist\u201d who believes they should only be used in \u201cspecific situations or to achieve certain goals\u201d in the short term.<\/p>\n<p>Tracy said that the U.S. has \u201cbeen subsidizing the world, including China and Europe, for way too long,\u201d but that \u201cthe jury\u2019s still out\u201d on if Trump\u2019s tariff regime will achieve its policy aims of more equitable trade deals and the onshoring of manufacturing jobs.<\/p>\n<p>Chlebek said tariffs are \u201ca tool\u201d that shouldn\u2019t be used \u201cin an arbitrary fashion.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A verdict is expected to be rendered soon by the U.S. Supreme Court on a lawsuit challenging Trump\u2019s ability to impose tariffs without congressional approval.<\/p>\n<p>All three said they would support a proposal that would require voters to present valid photo identification to vote but stopped short of supporting Trump\u2019s recent call to nationalize elections, which are run by states under the U.S. Constitution.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith 50 states, it\u2019s hard to hack,\u201d Tracy said.<\/p>\n<p>Evans said she sees \u201csome room for federal standards,\u201d but supports states running their own elections.<\/p>\n<p>Chlebek also stressed the importance of institutions like the United Nations and NATO that have come under attack by Trump and some Republicans in recent years.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have to be careful as far as removing our relationship with the rest of the world,\u201d Chlebek said. \u201cWe have to make sure that international institutions are preserved because it serves our interests.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Minimum wage, other topics<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The federal minimum wage has been $7.25 per hour since 2009, while Illinois\u2019 has been $15 for about a year. All three major Democratic candidates in the race have called for the federal wage to increase anywhere from $17 to $25.<\/p>\n<p>But the Republicans said they are just fine leaving it as-is.<\/p>\n<p>Tracy said he was concerned that a wage increase would impact employment opportunities for teenagers and developmentally disabled people.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s the bottom rung of the success ladder and that\u2019s why the focus is misplaced on the minimum wage,\u201d Tracy said. \u201cWe need to be focusing on real wages.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Tracy also said that new requirements for food assistance in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed by Trump last year were \u201clong overdue,\u201d citing \u201ctoo many able-bodied Americans out of the labor force living off of welfare.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Evans said she would propose \u201cto peel back regulations and taxes that burden companies\u201d instead of raising the price floor.<\/p>\n<p>Evans and Tracy each said they would not support a national abortion ban and leave that decision to individual states. Chlebek did not answer the question. All support the U.S. staying in the UN and NATO.<\/p>\n<p>Tracy said he supported Trump\u2019s pardons of people convicted of crimes connected to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, which disrupted the certification of Joe Biden\u2019s 2020 Electoral College victory and resulted injuries to more than 100 police officers and extensive physical damage to the building. Evans sidestepped the question, saying \u201cit\u2019s 2026, I\u2019m moving forward.\u201d Chlebek said he did not support the pardons.<\/p>\n<p>Chlebek, Evans and Tracy were chosen to participate based on factors such as fundraising and having a functioning campaign website. R. Cary Capparelli, Pamela Denise Long and Jimmy Lee Tillman II are seeking the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate. Early voting has commenced, and the primary\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/capitolnewsillinois.com\/election-guide\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">election is March 17<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/capitolnewsillinois.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Capitol News Illinois<\/em><\/a><em>\u00a0is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p> The three leading candidates pitched themselves as best equipped to turn the seat red by Brenden Moore \u00a0February 12, 2026 in\u00a0Elections A\u00a0A Republican candidates for U.S. Senate participate in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30543","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Illinois GOP Senate Candidates Take Stage in First Major Debate - Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader, 979XFM and KJ Country 102.3<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/30543-illinois-gop-senate-candidates-take-stage-in-first-major-debate\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Illinois GOP Senate Candidates Take Stage in First Major Debate - 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