The departures of five House Democrats representing the Chicago region is touching off a political scramble marked by astronomical campaign spending and generational shift.
The five Democrats, with more than 85 years of service between them, are leaving to either retire or seek the Senate seat of Minority Whip
“It may be kind of a generational change for the state, because these are some seasoned leaders who are stepping down or, in two cases, giving up their seats to run for the Senate,” said John Shaw, director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University.
In the 2024 election, by contrast, no Illinois member of Congress retired. Durbin and two of the retiring House Democrats are over 80 years old.
Outside groups spent more than $32 million on the four primaries, led by pro-Israel groups with ties to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and including super-PACs funded by the artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency industries.
The primaries include comeback campaigns by ex-House members Jesse L. Jackson Jr., and Melissa Bean, who are seeking to rejoin Congress after more than a decade out of office.
All of the open seats are in strongly Democratic districts where the primary essentially acts as the general election. A plurality is enough to win the primary. Illinois Democrats are favored to keep control of their 14-3 advantage in the House delegation this November.
2nd District
Ten Democrats are vying to succeed 13-year Rep.
They include Jackson Jr., brother of 1st District Rep. Jonathan Jackson (D) and son of the civil rights leader Jesse L. Jackson Sr., who died last month. Jackson Jr. served in the House from 1995 to 2012, when he resigned before his conviction and imprisonment for illegally spending $750,000 in campaign contributions.
His supporters include the pro-AI PAC Think Big, which says it supports Democrats “who champion a pro-innovation, pro-AI vision that ensures America remains the global leader in artificial intelligence.”
Jackson’s competitors include Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller, who raised $2 million through Feb. 25 to lead the Democratic field. She benefited from more than $4.3 million in spending from the Affordable Chicago Now super-PAC aligned with AIPAC.
State Sen. Robert Peters is supported by Sen.
7th District
Thirteen Democrats want to succeed Rep.
Davis is backing state Rep. La Shawn K. Ford, who drew opposition from the Fairshake super-PAC funded by the cryptocurrency industry. Ford said last week he’s under attack because he “supported legislation to regulate cryptocurrency and strengthen consumer protections.”
The AIPAC-funded United Democracy Project super-PAC spent about $5 million to support Chicago Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin, who was runner-up to Davis in the 2024 primary.
Other candidates in the race include Anthony Driver, who’s the executive director of the SEIU Illinois State Council, and Jason Friedman, a real estate developer who led Democratic candidates in fundraising. Friedman’s supporters include J Street PAC, a pro-Israel group that often positions itself as a liberal counterweight to AIPAC’s influence.
8th District
Bean is among eight Democrats seeking to succeed Senate candidate
Her backers include the AIPAC-linked Elect Chicago Women, the pro-AI Think Big, the Protect Progress super PAC aligned with the crypto industry, and the New Democrat Majority super-PAC that says it backs “pragmatic” Democrats “whose appeal to General Election voters is substantially higher than less pragmatic Primary opponents.”
Bean’s rivals include Junaid Ahmed, a technology businessman supported by the Congressional Progressive Caucus and Justice Democrats. Ahmed opposed Krishnamoorthi in the 2022 primary, winning 30% of the vote.
9th District
Fifteen Democrats joined the race to succeed Rep.
Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss is supported by the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC and the 314 Action Fund that works to elect more people to Congress with science backgrounds. Biss, a Ph.D. mathematician, previously served in the state House and state Senate.
Kat Abughazaleh, who has a background in progressive media, raised more than $3.3 million through Feb. 25. Her supporters include the Justice Democrats organization.
The AIPAC-aligned Elect Chicago Women supported state Sen. Laura Fine and opposed Biss, who’s backed by J Street. Chicago Progressive Partnership, another AIPAC-aligned group, spent more than $1.1 million against Abughazaleh.
State Sen. Mike Simmons received support from the Congressional Black Caucus PAC and the Equality PAC advocating for more LGBTQ+ representation.
4th District
There’s no Democratic primary in this Hispanic-majority district after Rep.
Patty Garcia, who isn’t related to the congressman, could face challengers in the general election from Democrats running as independents. Mayra Macias, a former Democratic political operative, and Chicago Alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez filed to run.
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