(Lea esta historia en español vía Telemundo Chicago aquí)
After gaining control of the House of Representatives in 2018, Democrats are in danger of losing the chamber in the upcoming election thanks to a variety of factors, and five Illinois races could prove key to the efforts of both parties this November.
Currently, Democrats hold a narrow majority in the chamber, with two seats currently vacant.
Under newly-drawn maps in Illinois, there are now 17 House districts in the state, and Democrats are hoping to secure a significant majority of those seats in order to help them maintain their control of the House in the midterms.
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Here are five races that could help swing the pendulum at the national level.
Illinois House District 6: Rep. Sean Casten vs. Keith Pekau
Casten unseated incumbent Rep. Peter Roskam back in 2018, and edged fellow Democratic Rep. Marie Newman in a contested primary earlier this year.
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His campaign website can be found HERE.
Casten will seek his third term in office against Republican Keith Pekau, who is currently serving as the mayor of suburban Orland Park Pekau has pointed to the economic progress made in Orland Park under his leadership, and has been harshly critical of Democratic handling of criminal justice issues, including the passage at the state level of the “SAFE-T Act.”
His campaign website can be found HERE.
Illinois House District 11: Rep. Bill Foster vs. Catalina Lauf
Democratic Rep. Bill Foster has served in Congress since 2008, serving on the Committee on Financial Services and the Committee on Science, Space and Technology. He is a physicist with a bachelor’s degree from Wisconsin and a PhD from Harvard University.
His campaign website can be found HERE.
Foster will face off against Republican Catalina Lauf, who served in the Commerce Department during the Trump administration. Lauf has touted her experience in the realm of business, working in both financial services and the tech sector and helping to found start-up companies.
Her campaign website can be found HERE.
Illinois House District 13: Nikki Budzinski vs. Regan Deering
This newly-drawn district shrank considerably in size from previous elections, but includes parts of Springfield, the Champaign-Urbana area and Edwardsville.
Democrat Nikki Budzinski served as a senior advisor on labor issues for Gov. J.B. Pritzker, and she also served as the chair of the Illinois Broadband Advisory Council, according to her website. She also has worked for numerous labor unions in her role as an activist.
Her campaign website can be found HERE.
Republican Regan Deering, who hails from the Decatur area, has worked in a variety of fields, including spending time as a teacher, business owner and philanthropist, according to her website.
She has been critical of the Biden administration on issues ranging from voter ID to border security, and has indicated that she would seek to reverse the Affordable Care Act, among other stances.
Her campaign website can be found HERE.
Illinois House District 14: Rep. Lauren Underwood vs. Scott Gryder
A registered nurse, Democratic Rep. Lauren Underwood was elected to Congress in 2018, defeating incumbent Randy Hultgren. She retained her seat by a razor-thin margin in 2020, besting Jim Oberweis.
She has cosponsored 27 pieces of legislation that have become law, and sponsored the Veterans’ Care Quality Transparency Act, which required the GAO to report on contracts entered into by the Department of Veterans Affairs with non-VA entities that relate to suicide prevention and mental health services.
Her campaign website can be found HERE.
Scott Gryder is currently the chairman of the Kendall County Board, growing up in suburban Plano. He received his law degree from DePaul and a bachelor’s from the University of Illinois-Springfield.
His campaign has emphasized national security by counteracting actions made by Russia and China, and he has pledged to work to cut taxes on small business owners and middle-class workers.
His campaign website can be found HERE.
Illinois House District 17: Eric Sorensen vs. Esther Joy King
In the race to replace incumbent Rep. Cheri Bustos, Rockford-native Eric Sorensen will square off against Republican Esther Joy King, who hails from East Moline.
Sorensen, a meteorologist, graduated from Northern Illinois University and has worked at TV stations in Texas, Rockford and Moline. His campaign has emphasized creating sustainable green jobs, protecting abortion rights and strengthening the health care system.
His campaign website can be found HERE.
King is a licensed lawyer and a JAG officer in the U.S. Army Reserve. She practices law in East Moline, and focuses on real estate law, according to her website.
King’s campaign has focused on making significant changes to the nation’s immigration system, as well as reining in increases in the national debt and rolling back restrictions on the Second Amendment.
Her campaign website can be found HERE.
