Casten, Foster, Schakowsky, Quigley and Garcia facing primary challenges

The first day of candidate filing for Illinois’ primary election in March revealed potential interparty contests in five suburban congressional districts.

Democratic incumbents are being challenged by members of their own party in the 4th, 5th, 6th, 9th and 11th House Districts, which serve parts of the north, west and northwest suburbs.

Additionally, three Republican candidates submitted nominating petitions for the 11th District seat.

Petition filing for the March 19 primary ballot began Monday and concludes Dec. 4. More challenges are possible; at least one is expected.

3rd Congressional District

Democratic U.S. Rep. Delia Ramirez of Chicago is seeking a second term representing the 3rd District and was the only candidate for the seat to file Monday. The district encompasses parts of Cook and DuPage counties, including neighborhoods in Wheaton and West Chicago.

4th Congressional District

In the 4th District, Democratic U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia of Chicago is being challenged in the primary by Chicago Alderman Raymond A. Lopez. Garcia is going for a fourth term. Lopez has sat on the City Council since 2015.

The 4th District encompasses parts of Cook and DuPage counties, including neighborhoods in Elmhurst and Oak Brook.

5th Congressional District

In the largely suburban 5th District, veteran Democratic U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley of Chicago is facing a primary challenge from Chicagoan Jerico Matias Cruz, who unsuccessfully ran for the seat in 2022 as an independent.

Republican Tommy Hanson, a Chicagoan making his fifth bid for Congress, also is running.

Quigley defeated Hanson in 2018, 2020 and 2022. Hanson lost to Democrat Rahm Emanuel in 2008.

Hanson gained national media attention earlier this fall, when a photograph of him wearing nothing but a skimpy swimsuit decorated with the U.S. flag and sandals at Chicago’s 2008 Pride parade surfaced during his wife Gabrielle’s mayoral campaign in Franklin, Tennessee.

Gabrielle Hanson lost the mayor’s race and resigned as a Franklin alderman earlier this month.

During his 2022 campaign, Tommy Hanson said he lives in Chicago, and the autobiographical section on his campaign website says nothing about Tennessee. His professional real estate website has a broken link to an operation in Tennessee, however, as well as one to a working page for Chicago real estate opportunities that touts his wife’s services.

Gabrielle Hanson lives in Tennessee and works there as a real estate agent, according to public records and professional websites.

Questions about where the Hansons live surfaced during her mayoral campaign, among other controversies.

The 5th District cuts diagonally through Cook and Lake counties between Chicago’s North Side and the Barrington area.

6th Congressional District

In the 6th District, Democratic U.S. Rep. Sean Casten of Downers Grove is being challenged once again by Chicago Democrat Charles Hughes.

Casten defeated Hughes and then-U.S. Rep. Marie Newman of La Grange in last year’s primary before besting Orland Park Republican Keith Pekau in the 2022 general election to win a third term.

On the other side of the political aisle, Niki Conforti of Glen Ellyn is back for another shot at the GOP nomination in the 6th. She lost to Pekau in the 2022 primary.

The 6th District includes much of the west and southwest suburbs in Cook and DuPage counties.

8th Congressional District

In the 8th District, Democratic U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi will seek a fifth term. Chicagoan Mark Rice filed to run in the Republican primary.

The 8th District includes parts of Cook, DuPage and Kane counties.

9th Congressional District

In the 9th District, veteran Democratic U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky of Evanston is looking at a primary contest with Park Ridge resident Michael Donahue.

The 9th District includes parts of Cook, Lake and McHenry counties. The seat has been solidly blue for decades, and Schakowsky hasn’t faced a serious challenge since first being elected in 1998.

10th Congressional District

Democratic U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider of Highland Park was the only candidate from either major party who filed petitions in the 10th District on Monday.

Lake Forest resident Joe Severino, who ran against Schneider as a Republican and lost in 2022, has said he would run as a Democrat in 2024 but did not file Monday morning.

The 10th District encompasses parts of Cook, Lake and McHenry counties.

11th Congressional District

Showdowns are shaping up on both sides of the political aisle in the 11th District.

For the Democrats, U.S. Rep. Bill Foster of Naperville is facing a challenge from Qasim Rashid, a Naperville resident who twice ran for office in Virginia before moving to Illinois last year.

As for the Republicans, Susan Hathaway-Altman of Geneva, Jerry Evans of Warrenville and Dr. Kent Mercado of Bartlett all filed Monday.

Hathaway-Altman and Evans both were candidates in 2022 and lost the GOP primary race to Catalina Lauf, whom Foster defeated.

The 11th District spans parts of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, Will, DeKalb and Boone counties.

https://www.dailyherald.com/news/20231127/casten-foster-schakowsky-quigley-and-garcia-facing-primary-challenges