Democrats were able to gain an extra seat for Speaker Nancy Pelosi in Illinois thanks to the state’s aggressive redistricting last year, even though the state lost a district after the 2020 census.
That was the plan, at least.
The boundaries of Illinois’ 17th District, a conservative area represented by departing Democratic Rep. Cheri Bustos, were altered to facilitate her party’s election, but Republicans might still win the district.
These districts are challenging. Once you leave Cook County and the collar counties, politics are completely different,” the five-term Bustos remarked in an interview. To win in these downstate seats, you need the right candidate and the right message.
Bustos, a supporter of Pelosi, is reluctant to hand the 17th District to a Republican.
However, with the possibility of losing the House if the GOP picks up just six seats in November, Democrats are finding that even the strongholds they have established are excruciatingly competitive because to people’ fears about the economy.
In the contest against Republican Esther Joy King, an Army JAG officer who had a great name recognition after losing to Bustos by 6 points in 2020, Bustos is supporting Democrat Eric Sorensen, a TV meteorologist.
The 17th congressional district, which includes the populated Rockford and Quad Cities regions in northwest Illinois, is significant for being one of the few places in the nation to elect a Democrat to Congress while also supporting Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020.
Democrats had a bigger advantage throughout the redistricting process since they were in charge of the Illinois statehouse, but it might not have been enough to win. King is utilising her prior experience as a candidate to her advantage by emulating Bustos’ previous campaign advertisements.
For instance, Bustos’ campaign slogan for 2020 was “Illinois is worth fighting for.” The message of King in 2022 is now “America is worth the struggle.”
It’s clever. The emphasis on the economics is from out of Cheri’s playbook, according to Robin Johnson, a professor at Monmouth College and an experienced pollster on Illinois policy problems. King gained knowledge from her loss regarding the appropriate message to deliver to the district.
But King is already facing criticism from Democrats, who have released ads criticising her anti-abortion views and calling her a “fake” by the House Majority PAC and the Democratic Campaign Congressional Committee, respectively.
Meanwhile, Sorensen, a first-time candidate, is well-known in the Rockford and Quad Cities region. His candidacy is centred on tackling economic issues including the cost of living, providing jobs to the district, and combating climate change. In addition, if elected, Sorensen would be the first openly gay member of the Illinois congressional delegation.
According to their campaigns, King has $1.3 million in cash on hand after raising $1.2 million in the third quarter, and Sorenson has raised $1.5 million.
Eric Adelstein, a political consultant who has worked with Barack Obama, Lori Lightfoot, and the Democratic National Committee, deadpanned, “With all due respect to Bob Dylan, maybe you do need a weatherman to determine which way the wind blows.” It’s a tight contest that might end up either way. Spending is considerable.
Not everyone in Bustos’ inner circle chose Sorensen as their top choice. He defeated a former state lawmaker and a municipal council member who were endorsed by individuals who worked on Bustos’ campaign in a fiercely contested primary.
Democrat Nikki Budzinski, a former budget assistant for the Biden White House who decided to run in 2021 with support from Sen. Dick Durbin, was given a landing spot in Illinois’ second available seat, the newly created 13th District, because to gerrymandering (D-Ill.).
According to AWN’s Election Forecast, the eel-shaped 13th District seat has a stronger Democratic lean than the more traditional 17th District seat.