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RandySF

(84,371 posts)
Tue Dec 9, 2025, 06:41 PM Dec 2025

IL-SEN: Top Democrat in a contested Senate race is caught up in a 'problematic' fundraising email blunder

Last week, a member of Sen. Tammy Duckworth’s staff called Rep. Ted Lieu’s team with a question: Couldn't the congressman have given her a heads up before issuing an endorsement in her state’s open, hotly contested Democratic Senate primary?

Lieu’s staff was puzzled. The California congressman, who, like Duckworth, is one of the most prominent Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) lawmakers on Capitol Hill, hadn’t weighed in on the Senate race in Duckworth’s state of Illinois.

That’s when Lieu's team learned that Democratic Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi’s campaign for Senate had implied otherwise, according to a person with knowledge of the conversation.

In fact, for months, the Krishnamoorthi campaign had been sending fundraising emails purporting to be written by Lieu, according to a review of nearly a dozen of those emails.



https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2026-election/top-democrat-contested-senate-race-caught-problematic-fundraising-emai-rcna248218?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Click%20here&utm_campaign=NBC%20NEWS%20EXCLUSIVE%3A%20Top%20Democrat%20in%20a%20contested%20Senate%20race%20caught%20up%20in%20%27problematic%27%20fundraising%20email%20blunder

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IL-SEN: Top Democrat in a contested Senate race is caught up in a 'problematic' fundraising email blunder (Original Post) RandySF Dec 2025 OP
What newsletter linked you to this story? Prairie Gates Dec 2025 #1
Not good. Glad the "call" was made and Cha Dec 2025 #2
How is that a "hotly contested" primary? W_HAMILTON Dec 2025 #3
Duckworth isn't in the primary...it's a primary for Durbin's open seat Prairie Gates Dec 2025 #4
Ohhh, thank you for clarifying! W_HAMILTON Dec 2025 #5
The article doesn't clarify whether Lieu actually said what was in the emails Prairie Gates Dec 2025 #6
Illinois has two Senators MichMan Dec 2025 #7

Cha

(319,134 posts)
2. Not good. Glad the "call" was made and
Tue Dec 9, 2025, 06:53 PM
Dec 2025

those sending out false" endorsement" info were Busted.

W_HAMILTON

(10,336 posts)
3. How is that a "hotly contested" primary?
Tue Dec 9, 2025, 06:58 PM
Dec 2025

I thought Duckworth has been doing a great job and I'm not sure why Democratic voters would want to oust her.

W_HAMILTON

(10,336 posts)
5. Ohhh, thank you for clarifying!
Tue Dec 9, 2025, 07:03 PM
Dec 2025

Bringing Duckworth's name up like the article did made me think she was being challenged in the primary.

Prairie Gates

(8,174 posts)
6. The article doesn't clarify whether Lieu actually said what was in the emails
Tue Dec 9, 2025, 07:15 PM
Dec 2025

Last edited Tue Dec 9, 2025, 11:06 PM - Edit history (1)

Poorly written and described situation.

MichMan

(17,155 posts)
7. Illinois has two Senators
Wed Dec 10, 2025, 10:18 AM
Dec 2025

Dick Durban is retiring and not running in 2026. Generally races with no incumbent are hotly contested.

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