Following the retirement of U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL-9), many candidates began to jockey for their spots. Primary elections take place on March 17, and the general election takes place on Nov. 3.
Durbin and Schakowsky have served since the ‘90s, making this one of the first competitive election cycles in over 30 years, The Chicago Tribune reported.
WHO IS RUNNING
The Democrats running in the Senate race include: Financier Steve Bosford Jr.; Sean Brown, Attorney and Community Advocat; Awisi Bustos, CEO of Illinois Alliance of Boys and Girls Club; Jonathan Dean, Entrepreneur and Attorney; Raja Krishnamoorthi, 8th District Congressional Representative; Robin Kelly, 2nd District Congressional Representative; Agricultural Engineer Bryan Maxwell; Kevin Ryan, Chicago Public School Teacher; Juliana Stratton, Lieutenant Governor; and Christopher Swann, Programming Manager at Feeding America; CBS News reported.
For Republicans, R. Cary Capparelli, Professor and Businessman; Polish Immigrant Casey Chlebek; attorney Jeannie Evans; Occupational Therapist Dr. Pamela Denise Long; Don Tracy, Former Chairman of the Illinois Republican Party; and Historian Dr. Jimmy Lee Tillman II, are running, CBS News reported.
In the congressional race, the candidates include Content Creator Kat Abughazaleh; Bushra Amiwala, Skokie School Board Member; FBI Agent Phil Andrew; Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss; Evanston Resident Patricia A. Brown; economist Jeff Cohen; State Senator Laura Fine; IT Consultant Mark Arnold Fedrikson; Justin Ford, Health Professional; Hoan Huynh; Bethany Johnson, 13th District State Senator; Sam Polan, U.S. Army Captain; Nick Pyati, Former Microsoft Strategist; litigator Howard Rosenblum; and Mike Simmons, 7th District State Senator, The Chicago Sun Times reported.
The Republicans running include Paraprofesional Rocio Clevland, Software Developer Paul Friedman, pastor John Elleson, and IT Consultant Mark Su, The Chicago Sun Times reported.
WHO IS WINNING
In the Senate race, Krishnamoorthi leads with 31 percent of voters choosing him if the elections were held today, 10 percent choosing Stratton, 8 percent choosing Kelly, and 46 percent remaining undecided, Emerson College Polling reported.
In the Congressional race, Fine and Biss tied with their respective 21 percent of the votes, and Abughazaleh follows third with 14 percent of voters, and 23 percent remaining undecided, Evanston Now reported.
WHAT THE PEOPLE WANT
A poll from Data for Progress found that threats to democracy, the economy, and inflation were the most important issues to 9th District.
Many Democratic candidates are trying showing their ability to stand up to, and lead during the current Trump administration, including Abughazaleh, who was indicted on charges of conspiracy to impede or injure a federal law enforcement officer for protesting outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Broadview, CBS News reported.
WHO SUPPORTS THEM
Durbin has not endorsed any canidate, Schkowsky has endorsed Biss, Politico reported. For details, visit the Illinois State Board of Elections; elections.il.gov.