Breaking Down House Primaries
The Illinois House Chamber in Springfield.
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As petition filing has come and gone for the June primary election, we take a look at the dozens of primaries for seats in the Illinois House.
Democrats
Rep. Sonya Harper (D-Chicago), had a hard time getting signatures put together before she filed Monday. Carolynn Crump, a police officer, is challenging her. As is photographer Steven Williams. Crump appears to be better organized, but Harper has all the access to House Dem and union cash.
Rep. Margaret Croke (D-Chicago) has a primary challenge from Abigail Nichols, who has long been involved with the League of Women Voters and testified against the Democrat remap efforts last year.
There’s a six-way primary to replace retiring House Majority Leader Greg Harris (D-Chicago). The primary appears to be wide open.
As expected, Rep. Michael Kelly (D-Chicago), who replaced former Rep. John D’Amico, is facing a challenge from progressive Michael Rabbitt.
Rep. Denyse Wang Stoneback (D-Skokie) has landed in some hot water recently as it was reported she employed a disgraced city of Evanston Human Resources Manager for a few months. Two Democrats, Kevin Olickal of Skokie and Naema Abraham of Morton Grove have filed petitions to challenge her.
Rep. Lindsey LaPointe (D-Chicago) also has two challengers. 9-1-1 operator Keith Thornton and Real Estate Agent Tina Wallace both filed petitions to challenge LaPointe in her northwest side district.
Rep. Mike Zalewski (D-Riverside) picked up a last minute primary from Abdelnasser Rashid, who previously ran for Cook County Board and Board of Review.
Reps. Curtis Tarver (D-Chicago), Justin Slaughter (D-Chicago), Bob Rita (D-Blue Island), Will Davis (D-Homewood), Cyril Nichols (D-Chicago), Mary Flowers (D-Chicago), Fran Hurley (D-Chicago), Will Guzzardi (D-Chicago), and Natalie Manley (D-Joliet) all have primary challengers.
Rep. Thaddeus Jones (D-Calumet City) has a challenge from Cal City alderwoman Monet Wilson. I’m told this deals from local power struggles. Jones is the Mayor of Calumet City.
Nabeela Syed of Inverness and Chelsea Barnes of Palatine have a primary to take on Rep. Chris Bos (R-Lake Zurich) in the new 51st district. Syed identifies herself as a “community organizer,” and Barnes is a social worker. This is the ultimate swing district. Joe Biden won it by 13 points in 2020 and Governor Rauner won it by about 9 points in 2018.
There is a three way primary to replace Rep. Sam Yingling (D-Grayslake), who is running for Senate. I’ll dig into the candidates over the next few days.
Former Senate candidate Gregg Johnson, Rock Island County Board member Jeff Deppe, and Thurgood Brooks, who nearly became Mayor of Rock Island last year, are facing off to replace Rep. Mike Halpin (D-Rock Island), who is running for Senate.
Triton College Trustee Norma Hernandez is challenging Rep. Kathleen Willis (D-Addison) in the 77th District, centered around O’Hare airport.
Republicans:
I won’t spend a lot of time on races where Republicans don’t stand a chance, but I have an interesting story on the 34th district, that runs from Chicago’s south side to the eastern half of Kankakee County. Two Republicans filed Monday. One is Rebecca Harms of Kankakee, who was fired from her teaching job in Herscher schools for refusal to receive the COVID vaccine or submit to testing. She is also the ex-wife of former Rep. Josh Harms. She faces Frederick Walls of Crete who says on his Facebook page he’s running because of a sex education bill passed last year that “requires Sex Education in Kindergarten to include teaching LGBTQ definitions and masturbation.” That’s not an accurate description of the bill, by the way. Either way, this is a district Democrats have a 65-percentage point advantage in.
Rep. Kelly Burke (D-Evergreen Park) has two potential Republican opponents in the new 36th District. Robbins Police Chief David Sheppard, who lives in Evergreen Park, is running. As is retiree Robbie Segina of Oak Lawn, running to “ban” Critical Race Theory and all mask and vaccine mandates. This isn’t as big of a stretch for Republicans as some districts. Joe Biden won the district by around 15 percentage points.
In the suburban 56th House District, William Thomas Olson, who ran as a Democrat for Congress in 2020, filed as a Republican. Olson received 13% of the vote in a primary loss to Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Hoffman Estates. Youth soccer coach Dale Litney of Schaumburg has also filed. The seat is held by Rep. Michelle Mussman (D-Schaumburg). Joe Biden won the district by 20 points, and Gov. Pritzker won the district by about 13 points.
Arin Thrower of West Dundee is the House GOP choice in the 66th House district. She faces CPA and Gilberts resident Connie Cain. This is the best chance Republicans have for a pickup in 2022, many believe, as Rep. Suzanne Ness (D-Crystal Lake) didn’t get as good of a map as she likely had hoped. She beat former Rep. Allen Skillicorn, who hardly did anything to compete in 2020, and Gov. Pritzker won the new district by just two points in 2018.
Rep. Dan Swanson (R-Alpha), who is recovering from cancer, is being challenged in the new 71st district. Matthew Rauschert of Avon, who worked in marketing for auto parts maker Steinjäger, is his opponent. Rauschert recently got $5,000 from gubernatorial candidate Gary Rabine. This is not a safe Republican district, by any means. Donald Trump won it by about 5 points in 2020. Then-Gov. Rauner won it by under a point in 2018. It includes the southern edge of the Quad Cities, Galesburg, and Macomb.
In the Dixon-based 74th district, which is being vacated by Rep. Tom Demmer (R-Dixon), Dixon Mayor Liandro Arellano faces 22-year-old farmer Bradley Fritts of Dixon.
Rep. David Welter (R-Morris) is facing a challenge from the right. He’s opposed by Jed Davis of Newark, a civil engineer and board president of Parkview Christian Academy in Yorkville, which was targeted by the Pritzker administration for decertification for failing to enforce Pritzker’s mask mandate last year. Davis says he “proudly [led] the charge against the out of bounds leadership of Governor Pritzker and the Illinois State Board of Education.”
Three Republicans are challenging Rep. Larry Walsh, Jr. (D-Elwood). Gov. Pritzker won the district by about 18 points in 2018 and none of the three GOP candidates Scott Greene of Elwood, James Lanham of Joliet, and Dinora Ruiz of Joliet appear to be super organized at this point.
Rep. Keith Sommer (R-Mackinaw) passed on running in the new 87th district that stretches from nearly Peoria to Decatur. Tazewell County Treasurer Mary Burress is seeking the seat, as is former Trump campaign staffer Joe Alexander of Clinton. Emergency physician and anesthesiologist Dr. Bill Hauter of Morton is also in the race. Burress recently received $10,000 from Rep. Tim Butler (R-Springfield), so it makes one think she’s the House GOP choice in the district.
Rep. Tony McCombie (R-Savana) is being challenged by retired Chicago Police Officer Victoria Onorato of Byron. Onorato is running on a Trump-esque anti career politician platform, but McCombie works hard and raises a bunch of money. This is a tough one for any challenger.
Republicans attempted to engineer their way out of a primary in the new 90th district, finding a way for Rep. Andrew Chesney (R-Freeport) to elevate to the Senate leaving the House seat for former Rep. John Cabello. But Cabello’s plan was foiled by the entry of Roscoe Mayor and Local 150 Business Representative Mark Szula. Szula will have a lot of center-right to center-left union money available to him, which could cause a big fight in this one.
In the new 91st district, stretching from Peoria to Bloomington-Normal, Democrats drew a seat they believed a Democrat would be a lock for. It went Biden +8 and Pritzker +6, so Republicans feel like they have a shot. They’re big on Normal Town Council member Scott Preston, who formerly worked for Treasurer Dan Rutherford. He faces James Fisher of Hudson, a longtime State Farm employee and current substitute teacher. Fisher will run at Preston from the right.
The primary in the 93rd is likely the most interesting of the season so far. Incumbent Rep. Mark Luft (R-Pekin) is being challenged by Travis Weaver of Edwards, the son of former Sen. Chuck Weaver. This is a clear divide between two sides of the Peoria County GOP. But, more importantly, after the Senate GOP and House GOP settled a giant and potentially ugly primary between Sen. Win Stoller (R-East Peoria) and Rep. Tony McCombie, Stoller has come out, at least privately, for Weaver. He did not return my text yesterday to confirm. This one may get messy.
We mentioned a couple of weeks ago that former Trump campaign staffer Kent Gray planned to challenge Rep. Tim Butler (R-Springfield) in the new 95th district. Butler has a lot of local support, including the endorsement of the Sangamon County GOP. Butler had around $130,000 on hand at the beginning of the year, and has reported around $15,000 in large contributions since then. Gray filed with around $2,300 on hand and has added at least $2,000 so far.
Former Marine Prescott Paulin of Decatur and Nurse Practitioner Lisa Smith of Blue Mound have filed to challenge Rep. Sue Scherer (D-Decatur) in the new 96th. This district got a lot better for Democrats. It went +17 for Biden and +19 for Pritzker.
Plainfield Township Clerk Michelle Smith and 2020 Senate candidate Tom McCullagh of Shorewood have both filed to replace Rep. Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield) in the redrawn 97th district. This is a tougher district for Republicans than it was for Batinick. Joe Biden won it by 10 points and Gov. Pritzker won it by around 9. Democrats are again putting up Harry Benton, who challenged Batinick in 2020. Smith appears to have the support from the “establishment” wing of the GOP. McCullagh is the guy who latched on to Rod Blagojevich in 2020. So, yeah.
There’s a four way primary in the heavily Republican 105th district north of Bloomington-Normal. State Farm employee Don Rients of Benson is in the race. He lost a 2018 primary to Congressman Darin LaHood. Woodford County Chief Deputy Sheriff Dennis Tipsword of Metamora also filed to seek the nomination. Livingston County Board Member Mike Kirkton of Gridley is in the race. But the favorite is likely Kyle Ham of Bloomington, a former Chief of Staff to then-Treasurer Dan Rutherford and former staffer to then-Attorney General Jim Ryan. Ham is currently Senior Vice President of tech company ELM Companies. Former LaSalle County State’s Attorney Karen Donnelly had announced for the seat, but she did not file petitions.
Jennifer Korte of Edwardsville, a former social worker at Barnes-Jewish Hospital before becoming a stay at home mom in 2005, has filed to challenge Rep. Katie Stuart (D-Edwardsville). Illinois Republican Party Communications Director Joe Hackler of Granite City has also filed petitions for the race. Obviously, Hackler will have the establishment support, but Korte appears to be the choice of the rightward activists that dive into my inbox. Biden won the new 112th district by about 6 and Gov. Pritzker won it by around 11 points, but the GOP believes the district is trending their way.
Rep. Dave Severin (R-Benton) is being challenged by Fairfield businessman Gary Carter in the 116th. Rep. Patrick Windhorst (R-Metropolis) is being challenged by CPA and former Williamson County Board member Ron Ellis. I suppose we’ll see if either of these challengers can raise some money to be competitive.
We’ve previously told you about the brewing primary between Rep. Paul Jacobs (R-Pomona) and Marion businessman Aaron Smith. Smith gave himself $100,000 in September and still has about that much in his campaign. Jacobs filed with around $82,000 on hand at the beginning of the year. Democrats initially thought they had a shot at the district, which JB Pritzker actually won by about 2 points in 2018. No Democrat filed for the seat, but the party could still slate someone in June.
