In bid to replace U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, Juliana Stratton and Don Tracy have very different visions for the future

In less than two weeks, Illinois voters will decide who will replace longtime U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, who is retiring after 30 years in office.

The two candidates to replace him, Democratic Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton and former Illinois Republican Party chair Don Tracy have two very different visions for the future.

The polls show Stratton has a comfortable lead. She's pushing for Medicare for all and a $25-per-hour national minimum wage.

Stratton was an Illinois state representative for just two years before being elected lieutenant governor as Gov. JB Pritzker's running mate in 2019.

Seven years later, she's leaving that job, and with millions in financial backing from the billionaire Pritzker, she's hoping her next stop is the U.S. Senate, where she wants to fortify a wall to stop President Trump.

"We need Democrats to get in and be prepared to be a wall of resistance to stand up against what this president is trying to do," she said.

Tracy has never held public office, but was the Republican Party chair in Illinois earlier this decade. He's self-funding his campaign and delicately walking the line many Republicans are with an unpopular president. He said he's not asking for President Trump's endorsement.

"I'm seeking the endorsement of the Illinois people," he said.

Asked if she thinks there will be a push to impeach President Trump if Democrats take back the House, Stratton said, "we'll see what happens."

"This president to me is the most corrupt president in history, this administration," Stratton said. "I'm going to do whatever I can to hold this president accountable."

Asked what areas he disagrees with the president on, Tracy pointed to the president's repeated calls for the Senate to eliminate the filibuster, which effectively sets a 60-vote threshold for passing most legislation.

"I think the filibuster separates us from a banana republic and yo-yo government, and it introduces a certain amount of bipartisanship in the U.S. Senate, which appeals to me a lot," Tracy said.

Asked if it's difficult to run as a Republican with the GOP controlling Congress and the White House, while affordability and the cost of living are top concerns for most voters, Tracy argued Democrats share the blame.

"People are hurting from the cost of living, there's no doubt about that, but keep in mind, it started under [President] Biden with the highest inflation in 47 years," Tracy said.

How long can that argument hold?

"Who knows how long it can hold, but certainly it's only been a couple of years," Tracy said.

For her part, Stratton placed the blame for the nation's economic woes squarely on the Trump administration.

"Everything's too expensive right now, and we have a president of the United States in Donald Trump who said on day one he was going to lower inflation, he was going to lower costs. He has not only just not succeeded in that, he's made everything worse," she said. "Job one for me is expanding access to affordable health care, and I personally will fight for Medicare for all."

"She's a democrat socialist. Look, she's for ruining Medicare," he said. "She's a democrat socialist. She supports Bernie Sanders, who is an avowed, admitted democrat socialist."

Tracy claims Stratton is a democratic socialist, but won't say it, and that Illinois should have one senator from each party to ensure success regardless of who's in the White House.

"A two-party state is a healthier state. We need to it more of a two-party state, and it starts by my winning this election," he said.

But Stratton defends her positions, including expanding the U.S. Supreme Court, term limits for Supreme Court justices, and increasing the federal minimum wage to $25 an hour.

"I want to raise wages," she said. "I would be open, at least, to looking at expanding this court, term limits for the court, and I'll tell you something else, I'm not going to vote to confirm any of President Trump's nominees to the court."