In the final minutes of candidate filing in Illinois on Monday, three Democratic challengers put their names in with House Speaker Michael Madigan in a fight for his 22nd District seat.
Jason Gonzales was the first of the three to file Monday evening just before 5 p.m., according to Natasha Korecki of Politico. Shortly after, Joe Barboza and Grasiela Rodriguez filed their petitions. Madigan filed petitions on Nov. 23, the first day of candidate filing, at 8 a.m.
Madigan was first elected to represent Illinois' 22nd District in 1970, and he has been the Speaker of the House for nearly 30 years. The district covers part of Chicago's Southwest Side, which is largely Hispanic.
It isn't likely that Madigan will be dethroned in the upcoming election, but the last-minute addition of Barboza and Rodriguez on the ballot will make it even more challenging for Gonzales to succeed, prompting some to question whether they were planted by Madigan.
Oddly, a search for the three challengers on the Internet yields few, if any, results on their bids for election. No Twitter or Facebook pages for their campaigns exist yet either.
The Democratic primary for the 22nd District seat will take place in March ahead of the November election.
