Suburban 65th House District May Test Limits of "Blue Wave"
Rep. Dan Ugaste (R-Geneva) knocks on doors in St. Charles Sunday afternoon. He is locked in a tight race with Democrat Ricky Rivard. (Photo: The Illinoize)
On a quiet street in suburban St. Charles Sunday afternoon, Rep. Dan Ugaste (R-Geneva), had a smile on his face.
Knocking on doors and dodging raindrops on the final weekend as he’s locked in a tight race to secure his fifth term in the Statehouse, Ugaste remains confident.
“I don’t think the entire environment is against Republicans,” he said. “I’ve been talking to voters this whole time, and they don’t feel as if Republicans are against them. They feel as if promises haven’t been kept in certain circumstances, but most of those people seem to be differentiating the federal issues from the state issues. Most people in my area seem to know it’s the Democrats who have controlled the state for 25 years. So if there’s a problem here that can be fixed, it’s because of the Dems and electing another Democrats not an answer.”
Ugaste faces Democrat Ricky Rivard, a real estate agent and adjunct professor at Elmhurst University from St. Charles.
Reached by phone Sunday evening, Rivard says he’s seeing significant opposition to Ugaste from voters around the district.
“I think that there’s real pushback against Ugaste,” Rivard said. “Folks at the door don’t know who he is, or they don’t see him representing them in a way that reflects what they think. We picked up the ball and we’re running with it.”
Democrats have been attacking Ugaste on television and digital for weeks, mostly on federal issues, but Ugaste says he believes voters aren’t swayed by the attacks.
“They’ve tried this here before,” he said. “I’ve been focused on property taxes. My district has known that since I started doing it. I have multiple bills filed. My voters are aware of it. People are aware. I’m fighting to lower their property taxes. And property taxes are the number one thing in my district right now. No matter what neighborhood I’m in or who I’m talking to, Democrat, independent or Republican, it’s property taxes.”
Rivard defended the federal messaging.
Democratic House candidate Ricky Rivard.
“There are votes and votes skipped that Dan has made or hasn’t made, that have tied his policies to national policies. There was a roll call vote on releasing the Epstein files on the floor this past session. And every Republican skipped it,” Rivard said. “You could say, ‘oh, it’s just for show.’ But if it’s just for show, it makes it almost even worse that you skipped it. If it was meaningless, then why wouldn’t you just vote to release those files? He signed onto a letter asking the IHSA to enforce the trans ban that Trump signed the executive order with. So there are national policies that Dan has tied himself to through his actions that we’re just magnifying.”
With all of the money and pressure and work in the campaign, how are the candidates feeling in the final weekend before Election Day?
“Sometimes do I wonder if we’re going to come out on top? Absolutely. I have that every election cycle. You wonder, did you do enough? Have you gotten your message out? Have you conveyed to voters what it is you’re trying to do and how you’ll do it if you’re reelected? But, you know what, I fall asleep at night and I sleep pretty well,” Ugaste said. “In all honesty, especially come this point in the cycle, we’ve done a lot. We’ve had a good program, we’ve had a good message. I have been out talking to voters. They seem to be with me on the issues. I believe we’re going to be okay.”
Rivard, who previously ran for County Board, says he’s feeling anticipation before Tuesday.
“There’s a little bit of seeing if our work paid off, right? We’ve talked to so many people, we’ve been to so many doors. We’ve made so many phone calls and sent so many messages,” he said. “I think that we’re getting folks out to the polls and I think our message is resonating, and that’s really gonna be a test to see if that work that we put in and everybody has put into this is gonna pay off.”
President Trump won the district by around one point in 2024. Governor Pritzker won it by around one point in 2022.
It could be one of the top toss ups in the state Tuesday night.
