GOP Candidate Enters 17th Congressional
A map of the 17th Congressional District.
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Julie Bickelhaupt
Carroll County Board Chair Julie Bickelhaupt jumped in the Republican primary to face Congressman Eric Sorensen (D-Moline) Monday.
Bickelhaupt, a farmer from Mount Carroll in northwest Illinois, accused Sorensen of being out of touch with the district.
“Eric Sorensen is everything wrong with politics today," she said in a statement. "He's embraced extreme policies and pandering political theater, while families here are just trying to pay the bills. He doesn't fight for farmers. He doesn't fight for working families. He doesn't fight for Illinois."
Sorensen beat Republican Joe McGraw by about 9 points in 2024. Kamala Harris won the district by about 4 points. Republican Dan Brady won the 2022 Secretary of State race in the district by 5 points. It’s seen as the GOP’s best chance to pick up a congressional seat under the current maps.
Bickelhaupt will have to defeat small business owner Dillan Vancil in the GOP primary.
