Illinois Democrats ran on anti-Trump messaging. Now what?

It's over. Now what?

That’s the question for all of the Illinois Democrats who sold themselves as fierce fighters against President Donald Trump.

Illinois being heavy Democratic turf, the nominees minted in the Tuesday primary will likely clinch their elections this November.

Chicago-area voters have been bombarded with broadcast and digital ads for weeks now with this anti-Trump messaging — for Cook County, state, Congress and Senate offices. In simple terms, positive ads cast candidates as anti-Trump, anti-ICE superfighters, while a firehose of negative ads painted rivals as duplicitous MAGA operatives.

Tens of millions of dollars from pro-cryptocurrency and pro-AI groups and political networks connected to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee fueled the unrelenting Democratic primary ad blitz. These special interest groups never revealed their true agendas and we are not better off as a community to be subjected to this political trickery.

We can however, look at what this may mean for Democrats leading up to the general election in November.

Opposition to Trump fired up Illinois Democrats

Illinois has one of the earliest primaries in the country, following the March 3 primary with Arkansas, North Carolina and Texas. Mississippi was on March 10. Illinois, however, is the first big blue state for Democrats to test anti-Trump political messaging ahead of the midterm elections.

That’s why these primaries never paid much attention to very local, unique issues. In this sense the Illinois contests were nationalized because given the dire moment we are in, opposition to Trump was the local issue.

And look at what our community has been through since Trump regained the White House last year: ICE and Border Patrol raids; snatching people off the street; terrorizing communities and deporting people without proper due process. Plus, slashes in federal funding for all sorts of programs to punish Illinois for being a blue state that values health care, immigrants, food assistance, diversity and all kinds of rights. On top of that, tariffs impacting local businesses and your pocketbook. And much, much more.

It's no wonder voters told us on Tuesday that immigration was a top reason for showing up at the polls.

Reality check: Democrats have little power

To the new nominees: Details, please, on how to win this uphill battle to save our democracy. That is, suggest something Democrats are not doing already. Because all I’ve heard in ads for you are screams and theatrics about fighting Trump.

There are plenty of Democrats in local, state, and federal governments already battling Trump. The reality is, if these experienced Democrats already in office could stop Trump, they would have.

Gov. JB Pritzker, renominated and poised to win another term, said Tuesday night he has been fighting Trump for years. “Friends, this is the fight of our lives," he said. "Everything we care about is under siege from Washington."

It’s not for lack of will. Every Democrat opposes Trump and wants to fight. Unless Democrats flip the House or Senate this November, with little power, it's hard to find the way.

As for the next peoples' fight against Trump, a "No Kings” demonstration at Butler Field in Grant Park is scheduled for March 28 in the Chicago suburbs and across the nation.