The race for the 14th Congressional District gained one candidate this week.
North suburban Gurnee resident Dennis Anderson, 61, announced he will seek the Democratic nomination in the March primary for the redrawn district. Anderson has not run for office before, but said he was spurred to run by a “frustration with a tinge of anger” about the climate in Washington.
“There are lot of people in this country and in this district who are hurting and there’s not a lot of relief coming out of Washington,” he said. “In fact, a lot of movement is in the opposite direction.”
Anderson worked as an administrator in the medical research field, mostly at Loyola University’s Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center. His job involved helping organize funding and research. He is on the board of directors of the International Breast Cancer Research Foundation and the board of the Literacy Volunteers of Lake County.
Anderson’s Web site is DennisAndersonForCongress.com.
Anderson is the second Democratic candidate to announce in a district that was significantly reshaped when Democrats drew the new political boundaries. Geneva, Batavia, Oswego and most of Kendall County would still fall into the new 14th District, which will stretch to the state’s northern border and out to Somonauk in the southwest.
The other Democrat seeking the nomination is former McHenry Alderman Frank McClatchey. Republican U.S. Rep. Randy Hultgren, the current congressman representing the 14th District, is running for re-election. Rep. Joe Walsh, another GOP freshman, announced Thursday he will run in the new 8th District, which has no incumbent. Walsh represents the current 8th District, but under the redrawn boundaries he would live in the new 14th District, which is expected to lean Republican. Walsh’s decision avoids a primary fight with Hultgren.
