CHICAGO — The top three candidates for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate largely stuck to familiar issues and campaign talking points Monday as they met for the final time ahead of the March 17 primary.

U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, in particular, continued to tussle over how various financial backers of their candidacies would influence their ability to stand up to Republican President Donald Trump, while Rep. Robin Kelly cast herself as an experienced, policy-oriented alternative to her frequently clashing opponents.

The ongoing war with Iran took a more prominent role in the forum, hosted by WTTW-Ch. 11, than in previous meetings of the candidates, with all three using the topic to criticize Trump and pivot to economic issues as oil prices surged to nearly $120 per barrel before dropping back below $90.

Launching a war without congressional approval is “not what anybody is asking for, certainly not the people that I’m talking to every single day across Illinois who are looking for lower prices for their groceries, their utilities bill,” said Stratton, a two-term Democrat from Chicago, adding that, if elected, she would not vote to authorize additional funding for military operations against Iran.

Calling the president’s actions “illegal and unconstitutional,” Krishnamoorthi noted he voted last week in favor of an unsuccessful resolution to end the military operation. “There’s no strategy. There’s no clear objective. He said it was regime change. The regime is not changing. There’s no timeline. There’s no exit strategy either. And the costs are rising,” said Krishnamoorthi, a five-term congressman from Schaumburg. “Seven servicemen and women have died, and we see at the gas pump, the price of gas has gone up by more than 50 cents.”

While not addressing whether he would vote for additional funding of the operation in the future, Krishnamoorthi said he has called for oil to be released from the U.S.’ strategic reserves to help keep prices down.

Kelly, a seven-term congresswoman from Lynwood who also voted for the resolution last week, criticized Trump for starting a war without authorization while people across the country are dealing with issues of affordability. “I would not vote for any more funding,” Kelly said.

The candidates also spent a portion of the hour-long forum trying to highlight the nuances of their differing positions on how to overhaul federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the broader immigration system after last year’s militaristic Operation Midway Blitz in the Chicago area and the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens in Minnesota early this year.

Stratton wants to “abolish ICE.” Krishnamoorthi’s position is to “abolish Trump’s ICE,” a position he frequently notes is shared with Stratton’s biggest backer and two-time running mate, Gov. JB Pritzker. Kelly has made a broader call “to dismantle (the U.S. Department of) Homeland Security.” All three support broader changes to the immigration system, including a legal path to citizenship for immigrants who were brought to the country as children without legal permission, among other standard Democratic positions on the issue.

The discussion of ICE gave way to a volley of well-worn attacks between Stratton and Krishnamoorthi over financial backers with ties to immigration enforcement. The lieutenant governor criticized the congressman over $29,300 that his $30.5 million campaign fund received from an executive of Palantir, an ICE contractor. He fired back that over $135,000 in contributions since 2019 from private prison contractor CoreCivic, which operates immigration detention facilities, went to the political action committee of the Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association, which is backing Stratton.

Krishnamoorthi has said he’s made contributions to three immigrant rights groups to offset the Palantir-tied donations to his campaign, while Stratton said she’s “called for (the DLGA) to return that funding.”

Kelly called Stratton’s criticisms “hypocritical” because of the significant share of contributions to her campaign fund and a super PAC backing her candidacy that have come from Pritzker and his family. She also said the continual back-and-forth between the lieutenant governor and Krishnamoorthi is “almost like the teapot calling the kettle black.”

The forum host, “Chicago Tonight” anchor Brandis Friedman, asked the candidates to share a kind word about their opponents.

Krishnamoorthi praised Kelly for her leadership on issues including maternal mortality and Stratton for being “a good mom.” Kelly said she’s worked with both and found them to be “very nice people.”

Stratton, running as an outsider and calling for new voices in Washington, said, “My opponents have both served for a long time in the Congress, and that should be applauded in Washington, D.C.”

The debate was scheduled to air Monday evening and night, online and repeat several times throughout the weekend.

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