Freshmen Democrats Sean Casten (IL-6) and Lauren Underwood (IL -14)
DuPAGE COUNTY- It's been just a few short months since the once-Republican dominated DuPage County was stunned when a deep, dark blue wave swept the region – taking with it two Republican Congress members – the 6th CD's Peter Roskam and the 14th CD's Randy Hultgren along with several GOP state lawmakers.
Many pointed to the failed top of the ticket – the ousted Governor Bruce Rauner – while others pointed to the U.S. House members themselves – just a little too comfortable and unthreatened by the dark blue wave that others were fearing.
We haven't heard much from either Roskam or Hultgren much since November, but there's been a considerable buzz concerning who may step out and try to win back those two districts from freshmen Democrats Lauren Underwood and Sean Casten. They could be vulnerable, thanks to the negative reaction to Underwood and Casten's radical Leftist classmates Alexandria O Costez and her gang turning off so many middle-of-the-road voters.
Friday night at DuPage County Chairman Dan Cronin's annual Corned Beef & Cabbage bash, Lieutenant Governor Evelyn Sanguinetti wasn't shy about her intentions to run for the 6th CD in 2020. "I'm seriously thinking that I will run," she said, and nodded her head yes when asked if that information could be shared with Illinois Review readers.
Sanguinetti – sporting a cast on her shin after a bout with a treadmill – successfully kept herself ideologically separated from Governor Bruce Rauner during her term and during the re-election campaign. She always made it clear she held her own opinions on issues that would hold up in her home district – despite her "good soldier" efforts to campaign on the team's behalf.
Sanguinetti said she'd spoken with Roskam's people and that they thought it was unlikely Roskam would seek re-election, so she was planning to move forward to regain the 6th for the Republicans.
In the 14th CD, things are already heating up. State Senator Jim Oberweis (R-Aurora) is promoting congressional candidate fundraisers on Facebook – saying he'd like to try once more to get to D.C. He has tried a couple of times before to make the U.S. Senate, but hasn't been successful. He's trying once again – in a district where the not-so-popular Gov Rauner won by 14 points.
State Rep. Allen Skillicorn (R-East Dundee) has spoken about his intention to succeed Randy Hultgren in the 14th CD, and with his strong libertarian political leanings, his youth, energy, outspokenness and name recognition in the region, he's in contention.
A newbie on the local political scene is Matt Quigley, a 32-year-old Navy veteran, has already won the support of a respectable number of conservatives and is serious about obtaining the nomination to challenge Democrat Underwood.
The question will be if the Democrats will be willing to finance their freshmen, and if the Blue Wave will return in 2020 with President Trump at the top of the ballot. Or have the demographics changed so dramatically that Republicans have permanently lost their Illinois stronghold?
What buzz are you hearing?
I wish the Republicans would run someone with a name to oust Krishnamoorthi in the 8th district. That guy is as far left as they come.
They forgot to mention another candidate who has filed in the 14th.
Danny Malouf
Constitutional Conservative
http://www.danny2020.com
https://www.nwherald.com/2019/03/02/crystal-lake-republican-aims-to-challenge-underwood-in-2020/as09kju/
Evelyn Sanguinetti – yawn.
Dumpster Fire Casten will become more entrenched if that is who they run.
Sanguinetti is a sure loser.
She separated herself from Rauner??? Be real. She was jumping up and down for joy when Bruce edged Jeanne Ives in the 2018 primary.
If Jim will support the Trump agenda and stand strong on the presence of illegal aliens again I will volunteer for his campaign once again as will my children.
He is a well intentioned good guy despite his blanket support for public school teachers.
Hultgren could likely win the seat back if he would grow a pair and stop waffeling and support Trump fully. The problem is Hultgren has always been bought and paid for and a liberal at heart.
Sanguinetti kept herself ideologically separate from Rauner?? Really?? I seem to remember her standing right beside him and cheering him on while signed the Trust Act to make Illinois a Sanctuary State. None of these people are going to beat Casten or Hultgren. Keep looking.
The D.C. Republicans are blaming their poor showing in 2018 on Trump, who “moderate” suburban women hate, don’t you know. So they are trying to appeal to this voter by getting Carol Rezin (who voted for the ERA among many other bad votes) to run in the 14th and Rauner’s pet Sanguinetti fills the bill, too.
Skillicorn was strong for Ives. If all the Springfield and media “pro-life champions” (no, I am not talking about “Pro-lifers are like Taliban” Oberweis) had done the same thing, Ives would have won and kept the party from a total debacle in 2018. She’d probably have lost to Pritzker but it would have been far, far closer and saved us many legislative and county board seats and Pritzker would be a one term accident.
I am going to be frank—anybody who is not for Skillicorn are the same old “conservatives” who get bought every election to do the liberal “Republican” establishment’s dirty work by splitting the conservative vote.
Sanguinetti is clumsier than Hillary and a lot younger. I wonder who she is going to sue this time for her problems with balance. Roskam should be her personal injury lawyer.
Evelyn, you’re a nice lady. But someone nice can’t win against Casten — we need an in-your-face, fierce, take-no-prisioners warrior who will pull out all the stops if that seat is going to be recaptured. And if we don’t recapture it in 2020, it’s gone for good. Have the Republicans in the 6th forgotten already how viciously and relentlessly Indivisible and Resist came after Roskam?! He couldn’t even show his face without them starting a riot and driving him into hiding. We need someone who can stand up to that disgusting behavior and dish it right back at them. I don’t see any Republicans who fit the bill.
Evelyn could run and win in the 6th, Ives could beat her in a primary but I don’t know if she’d fair better in a general against Casten. Gary Rabine / Karen McConnaughy should run in the 14th. That’s if you are serious about winning seats back to return a republican house majority. Lot’s of other no names are distractions, nice guys, but distractions.
I guess GRANT NOBLE has never heard of EARN YOURSELF a PROMOTION! What has Skillcorn done but shoot off his mouth ….NOTHING! Anybody can shoot off their mouth. What bills has he passed? WHAT ARE HIS ACCOMPLISHMENTS!?? Sure I think folks SHOULD be promoted Based on Merit. Allen has done NOTHING but comb his hair the wrong way.
To win back the 14th we need a tough as nails, loyal Trump supporter. The only person who has those qualifications is Jennifer Nevins. You’ve heard her on Beyond the Beltway and read her IR post a few days ago; she doesn’t back down from anybody! We need to get a grassroots movement going to convince her to run. And if not the 14th, who wouldn’t like to see her run against Durbin in 2020? That would be an epic battle!!
Roskam and Hultgren mailed in their campaigns…without paid postage. No surprise in the results.
I met and talked to Evelyn Sanguinetti about the 6th CD seat at the McHenry County Lincoln Day Dinner a couple of weeks ago. I told her that her name recognition would not be a problem, but her association with Governor Bruce Rauner would. More than anything…I told her that if she was not a strong supporter of President Trump, she would have a hard time getting my support in a primary battle. That said…if she was the eventual nominee…she would get the full support of the Republican Party.
My preference for the 6th CD is Jeanne Ives, but unfortunately she has no interest in running because she said she would never get the financial support from the Republican Party if she won the primary. Unfortunately, there is merit to this belief from the feedback that I have been given…simply because of her highly provocative TV AD that she ran in her gubernatorial primary campaign against Rauner. The national, feckless, Politically Correct RINO’s would be scared to death to show support for her.
Without a doubt in my mind, Jeanne Ives is the true conservative Republican leader in our state and her opinion and views must be sought out.
It is my hope that Jeanne Ives and Tim Schneider establish a working relationship that will benefit the long term goals and direction of Republican Party in Illinois. Tim Schneider supports President Trump and that is a big plus that he needs to vocalize more forcebly. We have no time to try and establish new leadership in our state…nor do we need individuals like former IL-GOP Chairman, Pat Brady, telling Republicans what direction the IL-GOP should be headed in…and with whom.
MATT QUIGLEY IS OUR ONLY CHANCE TO WIN BACK THE 14TH.
Matt Quigley is our only chance to win.
Karen McConnaughy should run in the 14th.
Oh please, she is corrupt as they come and besides we already have a Democrat – how would that be different than Karen?
My preference for the 6th CD is Jeanne Ives, but unfortunately she has no interest in running because she said she would never get the financial support from the Republican Party if she won the primary.
If you truly believe this there is an easy way around this. How feasible it is, depends on some basic math and the willingness the pro-Jeanie people to do something other than exercise their mouths.
First the Math(lots of assumptions built into this), you need to to count the total precincts in the district. Next you need to multiply that by 6. That will give you the number of pro-Jeanie volunteers you need to cover a precinct in approximately 6 hours (I pulled these numbers based on experience, but geographic features and housing density greatly effect them. Still and all, it has proven to be accurate in a number of campaigns) assuming slow walking to slightly infirmed people.
To be successful you want to do this 3 times, so you will either need 3x the number or people willing to walk on multiple occasions.
This drops the monetary requirement down to palm cards and some strategic sign placement.
Never, ever underestimate the power of door to door canvassing. Do the math, figure out the number and see how feasible it is. I’ll take an educated guess and say you need 366 volunteers for one pass, and 1098 for 3 passes using unique individuals each time.
You also need to develop 3 scripts(various depth) for the canvassing and some supporting visual aids that supplement the palm cards.
Get the 1098 people and this is very, very winnable on a shoe string budget.
I live in the 14th Congressional District…a district that is mostly Republican country. Unfortunately, we lost that seat to a Democrat last year (Lauren Underwood).
We need to recapture this seat with a bright young leader that is accomplished and will represent our district well for years to come. For this reason, among others, I am supporting Matt Quigley to be my 14th Congressional District in the GOP Primary race.
I have met and talked to Matt Quigley on several occasions, including his wife, Jen. To me, they both represent what is good about our nation…a young family with children that want what is best for their family, friends, neighbors, community, state, and country.
Some highlights about Matt Quigley:
1. He was a High School All-American swimmer.
2. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy.
3. He served as a Naval officer and traveled the world.
4. He was awarded a Humanitarian Service Medal.
5. He earned an MBA from the University of Chicago.
On top of that…Matt Quigley co-founded his own company.
“Matt dedicated himself to growing jobs and helping other entrepreneurs get their start. He and his team created software that helps guide people through the entrepreneurship process and write a business plan. To ensure his software helped as many people as possible, and that cost was never a barrier to success, he partnered with public libraries and community colleges. The Naperville, St. Charles and Oswego Public libraries, all in the Illinois 14th district, were his first three partners in the entire United States. Since then his entrepreneurship software has helped hundreds of aspiring small business owners here in the IL-14 and thousands across the United States, Canada, and Australia. In addition, it is also available to every member of the US Military through the military library system, supporting veteran entrepreneurship.”
I think Jeanne Ives knows what it will take to win an election on a shoestring budget, without a campaign manager, against an incumbent Governor with an unlimited amount of money…that won based on a lie that Central and Southern Illinoisans bought.
She saw how self-interest Republican political hacks were bought off and did not raise a finger to support her and fight for what the Republican Party fought for. To defeat Casten she will need lots of money from the National Republican Central Committee…I doubt if she would get their support monetary support.
It is a tough call for her…I hope she gives the decision plenty of consideration.
Joseph,
Lack of money, lack of support of the Republican party are excuses.
There is not a darn thing stopping a would be candidate from knocking on doors today, introducing themselves,explaining their high level policy position, indicating they will be running and asking if they can count on the home owner’s signature when petitioning season starts.
That gives the candidate their first contact point. The second point comes when you gather signatures. There is no law that says you cannot gather more signatures than you need and no reason you cannot campaign as you gather them. It is also a good time to ask if they would be willing to display a yard sign from X-date until X-date once the campaign season is underway(if you are going to have signs). So right there you have two touch points before the official campaign starts.
No one. The 6th is gone. This state is just about guaranteed two lost house seats, don’t hold your breath on a third especially if the citizenship question gets on the Census (fingers crossed). The 2021 redraw is gonna look like 2011, except no GOP districts within 80 miles of the loop. It will look something like a spokeswheel of districts.