Democrats focus on four Illinois congressional races

By Kevin Beese Staff reporter

Matt Brolley

Betsy Dirksen Londrigan has logged more than 20,000 miles on her vehicle since announcing her candidacy.

Kelly Mazeski, a breast-cancer survivor, announced her candidacy on the same day the U.S. House of Representatives voted to alter the Affordable Care Act.

Prosecutor Brendan Kelly, long courted for a run for higher office, has thrown his hat in the ring for Congress.

As a candidate Matt Brolley held a town-hall meeting to address the Republican tax plan.

Other Democratic candidates in key Illinois congressional districts continue to ramp up their efforts as well

And Democratic eyes are watching.

The national Democratic Party sees four Illinois congressional seats — the 6th, 12th, 13th and 14th — as ripe for the picking in November.

“We see a big opportunity. Illinois has four targeted seats,” said a national Democratic source, who spoke with the Chronicle on the condition of anonymity. “If everything breaks right, all four could be competitive. Illinois is just below California and New York in terms of the number of targeted races and you will have a very expensive gubernatorial race that should bring people out.

“Congressional Republicans cannot be excited to have (Gov. Bruce) Rauner at the top of the ticket. Illinois Democrats are very focused. We have a tremendous opportunity in the Midwest.”

The national strategist noted that all four targeted Republican incumbents — Peter Roskam in the 6th, Mike Bost in the 12th, Rodney Davis in the 13th and Randy Hultgren in the 14th — voted for the Republican health care and tax plans “which we see as really unpopular with voters.”

Brendan Kelly

“They do not deviate from the norm,” the national source said of the targeted Republican congressmen.

The only official move the national party has made in Illinois races so far is to put Kelly on the Red to Blue list, signaling the St. Clair County prosecutor has the right stuff to get national support in his 12th District race.

The Red to Blue designation is not a party endorsement but is viewed as a signal that the campaign is already in a position to win.

Kelly is viewed as a sellable candidate with his military and prosecutorial backgrounds. The fact that he has prosecuted big banks and politicians, both Democrats and Republicans, is seen as a strong selling point.

In the third quarter of 2017, Kelly raised $300,000, no small feat in southern Illinois.

Even though Kelly faces two primary challengers — David Bequette and Charles Koen — party leaders are confident Kelly will emerge as the Democratic candidate for November.

Despite there being returning Democratic candidates in both the 6th and 13th districts, the party would not mind seeing fresh faces taking on the incumbents.

“With people who run frequently we see in the data that the incumbent is not at much risk,” the Democratic source said. “There is a higher baseline with new candidates. The people who run frequently really have next to no resources to compete.

“Name identification can be a double-edge sword. This time people are very aware and want to flip seats. They want someone who will put together the resources to flip the seat. It can be a bit of an uphill climb for candidates who continue to run as there is not as clear a path for them to get through to the General Election.”

Democrats making previous runs in the 6th and 13th reject that perception.

David Gill, making his fifth official bid for Congress, lost a whisker-thin battle against Rodney Davis in 2012.

Betsy Dirksen Londrigan

He said a mirror-image independent candidate took 7.5 percent of the vote from him in a race he lost to Davis by just 0.3 percent.

“The party said they wanted someone new the last couple election cycles and their candidate has lost by 50 to 60 times what I lost by (in 2012),” Gill said.

Gill said he had to get through a tough primary in 2012, including a candidate with the national party’s backing, and expects to be the Democrat left standing again after the March 20 primary.

“I was outspent 5:1 in the 2012 primary. I have a lot of grassroots support,” Gill said.

Amanda Howland, a returning Democratic candidate in the 6th District, said a look at recent history shows the need, at times, for candidates to make multiple runs.

“It took Barack Obama two runs to get a state Senate seat,” Howland said “It took Dick Durbin two or three times to get a congressional seat. Bill Foster had to run more than once,” Howland said. “Melissa Bean had to run more than once. I was even told by Dick Durbin that you have to run more than once. So there is precedent.”

Democratic insiders see Kelly Mazeski as the favorite right now in the seven-person 6th District Democratic primary.

“I have often been referred to as the frontrunner, but it is not a done deal,” Mazeski said. “I am honored to have the support, but it does not affect my work ethic. I am still working hard. I am working at the same level as I was before I got endorsements.

“It is a short-lived feeling,” Mazeski said of picking up an endorsement. “Then it is right back at it.”

Mazeski had outraised her opponents in campaign donations thus far.

Republican Congressman Randy Hultgren

Other candidates in the 6th are Naperville City Councilwoman Becky Anderson, data analyst Ryan Huffman and regulatory attorney Jennifer Zordani.

One of just two men in the 6th District Democratic field, biochemist Sean Casten doesn’t see his gender being an advantage in the race.

“Nobody has said they will vote for me based on my gender,” Casten said. “They want to know about the issues and my ability to get things done once I’m there. No one wants the second coming of the Tea Party, people elected, but not able to get anything done. I believe I am the most competent candidate on the issues.”

Casten said polling has proven that out. He said polling where individuals’ full biographies were presented to potential voters had him on top.

The candidate expects to be able to get his message out to voters in the district.

“I’ve raised enough to feel good about where we are. It’s a challenge because we know that when people know the issues we win the race,” Casten said,

Fellow Democratic challenger Carole Cheney points to her experience as district chief of staff for U.S. Rep Bill Foster for four years as excellent training to prepare her to be a congressional representative.

“I am the only candidate with congressional office experience,” Cheney said.

She said she feels that Roskam is not in touch with the district.

“A representative is elected to serve constituents not special interests,” Cheney said.

She said she doesn’t see people voting for Howland just because she was the Democratic nominee two years ago.

“That candidate did not move the needle when people had the opportunity to vote for her,” Cheney said.

Betsy Dirksen Londrigran is seen as having the inside track in the five-person 13th District Democratic race, according to party insiders.

“Being a representative means representing and listening to constituents,” Londrigran, a former staffer for U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, said. “That is why I have put 20,000 miles on my car. I will take people’s concerns and be their voice in Washington”

The longtime Springfield resident said her roots are “in this community” and her family being active in the area for generations should help her candidacy.

She said the possibility of national money coming into the race would not have an altering effect on her.

“I am the same person who was born here and raised here. I’ve made my life here,” the former middle school teacher said. “People in the district know me, they know who I am. I plan to carry the 13th District to Washington, not the other way around.”

Besides David Gill, other Democrats in the 13th District primary are: college professor Jonathan Ebel, former Illinois assistant attorney general Erik Jones and teacher Angel Sides.

Democratic sources say they expect the seven-person race in the 14th Congressional District Democratic primary to come down to Montgomery Village President Matt Brolley and nurse Lauren Underwood.

“We are waiting to see if it is Underwood or Brolley,” one source said. “Neither has raised huge resources. Brolley just picked up the AFL-CIO endorsement, which is big, but neither one has tremendous boots on the ground. Both have good profiles though.”

 

 

 

 

 

— Democrats focus on four Illinois congressional races —