Reviving the American dream is key to Krishnamoorthi’s Democratic bid for Senate

Raja Krishnamoorthi and his family benefited from public housing, food assistance and public schools in Peoria to help reach the American Dream after they immigrated from India.

However, the Chicago-area congressman believes that path is getting harder for a majority of Americans — and it’s why he’s running this year to succeed longtime Sen. Dick Durbin, who’s retiring.

“I’m running to preserve, protect and defend the American Dream, which I think is slipping out of the grasp of millions of people, especially now during the chaos of Donald Trump,” Krishnamoorthi said on the latest episode of the Politically Speaking podcast.

Krishnamoorthi, D-Schaumburg, has a massive campaign fund of $28 million, according to FEC filings. He’s also led a majority of the polls that have been released publicly.

“It’s nice to lead some polls, but the only poll that counts is March 17,” he said. “That’s the day when we find out whether I got the endorsement of the people of Illinois.”

Krishnamoorthi first ran for office in 2010, losing the Democratic primary for state comptroller. He also ran against now-U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth in the 2012 primary for a Chicago-area congressional seat and lost. He then won that seat in 2016.

Prior to running for office, Krishnamoorthi worked on Barack Obama’s unsuccessful bid for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2000 and Obama’s successful bid for the Senate in 2004.

An attorney, Krishnamoorthi was a special assistant under former Attorney General Lisa Madigan and deputy treasurer under then-Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias.

The Senate primary, which includes fellow U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, has gotten intense in Illinois, where Democrats have dominated statewide races — with the frontrunners diverging on minimum wage, Medicare for All, who should lead their party in the Senate and what, if anything, should replace Immigrations and Customs Enforcement.

Campaign finance

Arguably the fiercest rhetoric on the campaign trail has centered around campaign finance.

Last fall, Stratton criticized Krishnamoorthi for accepting donations from those aligned with Trump. That prompted Krishnamoorthi’s campaign to donate those contributions to immigrant-rights groups.

Krishnamoorthi has since attacked Stratton’s record, noting that she has accepted money from corporations previously while she has vowed not to take money from corporate political action committees this cycle. A super PAC supporting Stratton also took money from an ICE contractor but promised to donate the cash to the National Immigration Law Center.

“We got to just end the hypocrisy and kind of get to the issues that people care about right now,” Krishnamoorthi said.

Affordability

A key part of preserving every citizen’s path to the American dream is affordability, Krishnamoorthi argues.

Raising the federal minimum wage, which last changed in 2009, from $7.25 per hour, is something all three frontrunners have pitched. Krishnamoorthi said he supports Sen. Bernie Sanders’ legislation to increase the wage to $17 per hour gradually.

Stratton has proposed $25 per hour, which Krishnamoorthi says is too much, especially for teenagers and young adults who worked in fast food as he did.

“Setting a minimum wage that’s too high could lead businesses to do the opposite of hiring young people,” he said.

Creating a Medicare for All system would be something Krishnamoorthi said he could support if the bill came to a vote.

“But right now, the No. 1 pressing issue: We have to deal with the five-alarm fire consuming our health care system, which is the fire instigated or sparked by Donald Trump,” he said.

Reversing cuts to Medicaid passed in Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill and bringing back now-expired tax credits for the Affordable Care Act insurance plans will need to come before Medicare for All, he said.

Holding Trump accountable

As younger and more progressive Democrats argue their party should push back against the Trump administration more aggressively, some have questioned whether Sen. Chuck Schumer is still the right person to lead Senate Democrats.

While he’s undecided on Schumer, Krishnamoorthi said that the leader of the Senate Democratic caucus should focus on two issues: affordability and holding Trump accountable.

“We have to make sure that whoever leads has to put those front and center, as far as I’m concerned,” he said.

Krishnamoorthi said accountability could start with much stronger oversight of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

He said masks need to come off federal agents, body cameras need to be worn at all times, warrantless arrests need to be stopped, and there have to be third-party investigations into the use of force. However, there will still need to be immigration enforcement.

“But these need to be done in a different way,” he said. “Right now, the way that they’re being enforced, I believe, is illegal and indeed unconstitutional.”

Trump should also seek congressional approval if his administration wants to strike Iran in the coming weeks, Krishnamoorthi said.

“At the end of the day, I don’t want Iran to have a nuclear weapon,” he said. “I want them to end their ballistic missile program and their nefarious activities, including supporting terrorists throughout the Middle East. However, the best way to do that is at the bargaining table.”

After the Supreme Court shot down Trump’s use of tariffs, revenue collected from the import taxes should be paid back, Krishnamoorthi said.