Leftward Move for Democrats "Concerning" for Governing
Reps. Denyse Wang Stoneback (D-Skokie), Kathleen Willis (D-Addison) and Mike Zalewski (D-Riverside) were all defeated by challengers from the left in the June 28 primary.
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The shocking primary defeat of three House Democratic incumbents have left some in the party celebrating a leftward move, while others fear legislative Democrats may move too far left to effectively govern.
Reps. Mike Zalewski (D-Riverside), Kathleen Willis (D-Addison), and Denyse Wang Stoneback (D-Skokie) were all defeated by primary opponents last month. Zalewski and Wills are considered moderate Democrats while Wang Stoneback has most often been categorized as a progressive. But all three lost their runs for re-election by opponents running at them from the left.
Add a Senate primary where progressive Will County Board member Rachel Ventura knocked off moderate appointed Sen. Eric Mattson (D-Joliet), and it was clear Democratic voters are moving to the left. But, at what cost?
Zalewski was pigeonholed during his primary by opponent Abdelnasser Rashid as not being “100% pro choice” because Zalewski, a father of daughters, opposed repeal of the Parental Notification of Abortion statute.
Stoneback, who was elected two years ago running to the left of an appointed incumbent, was targeted for her “present” vote on a version of a bill reforming the state’s Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) law because it made fingerprinting voluntary instead of mandatory. Stoneback supported the stronger version of the legislation that passed the House but wasn’t called in the Senate. At the time, she called the version enacted “watered down.”
Stoneback was defeated by 29-year-old Kevin Olickal, who had the support of the Gun Violence Prevention PAC, Giffords “Courage to Fight Gun Violence” organization, and longtime anti-gun organization Brady PAC.
Wang Stoneback declined to comment to The Illinoize on the result, but a longtime Democratic consultant, who asked not to be identified, said Olickal took Wang Stoneback’s gun position out of context in a way that misled voters.
“People who will say and do anything to win tarnishes government in the eyes of the public, and it’s a big problem,” said the Democrat, who says that will translate into even more partisan rancor in Springfield. “The very far ends of each spectrum [won’t be] able to come to consensus. It’s not healthy. [We’re electing too many] far left progressives and far right conservatives. If [the legislature] goes to the far ends, that’s just going to make it harder to govern, especially with dirty campaigns who bring people to Springfield nobody can trust.”
Another Democratic insider we spoke to said Zalewski, who is a popular and effective legislator respected on both sides of the aisle, shows primary voters may not be looking for effectiveness, but for warriors for their most important causes.
“There really isn’t room [for moderates] in the caucuses anymore,” said the insider, who asked to speak freely on the condition of anonymity. “Rashid was pretty savvy to find a very clever way to make [Zalewski] look anti-choice, even though he’s about 98% of the way there. That was very persuasive to people. It’s what they wanted in this election. People wanted purity, they wanted absolutism. They wanted people who will fight.”
But, Sen. Cristina Pacione-Zayas (D-Chicago), a progressive who supported numerous leftward leaning candidates, said Democratic primary voters were clear in what they want from their lawmakers.
“The electorate that turned out for the primaries sent at clear message expectations for engagement, accountability, and authenticity,” she said. Pacione-Zayas was appointed to the Senate after Iris Martinez was elected Cook County Circuit Court Clerk in 2020 and is unopposed in both the primary and general elections in her district on Chicago’s west and northwest sides. “Voters overwhelmingly chose candidates with lived experience, track records for doing the work, and unapologetically showing up as their whole self representing identities that have historically not been in the General Assembly.”
Pacione-Zayas says if the new progressive lawmakers translate their effective campaigns into legislative success, the state “has a lot to gain.”
Zalewski says he fears Democrats will have a harder time keeping their coalition of progressives and moderates together going forward.
“Democrats have traditionally done a better job of merging progressive and moderate values,” he said. “And that may be slipping out of our grasp a little bit.”
While all three districts have Republicans on the ballot in the fall, they’re considered safe Democrat seats, ensuring the leftward shift from the incumbents.
