Politics
Melissa Bean Declared Winner in Democratic Primary for Krishnamoorthi’s Open 8th Congressional District Seat
Melissa Bean, who previously led Illinois’ 8th Congressional District for three terms, was declared the Democratic nominee. (Provided)
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Melissa Bean, who previously led Illinois’ 8th Congressional District for three terms, took a major step toward taking that seat back, as she has been declared the winner in Tuesday’s Democratic primary race.
The Associated Press called the race for Bean, who leads the eight-person field of candidates with 32% of votes, according to unofficial results, while progressive tech businessman Junaid Ahmed is currently running in second place with 26.5% after nearly 90% of votes were tallied.
The candidates are running to replace U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, who is leaving his seat in the northern suburban district that covers parts of Cook, DuPage and Kane counties after nearly a decade as he seeks to win the seat of retiring U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin.
His exit opened a door in the solidly Democratic district.
Also running in Tuesday’s primary is Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison; Village of Hanover Park Trustee Yasmeen Bankole; small business owner and writer Sanjyot Dunung; Dan Tully, an attorney and U.S. Army Reserve officer; entrepreneur Neil Khot; and Ryan Vetticad, who worked in the Justice Department’s Counterterrorism Section.
Bean will face off in November’s general election against Jennifer Davis, who emerged victorious in Tuesday's three-candidate Republican primary.
Bean held this seat from 2005-2011, when she was narrowly defeated by Joe Walsh — a Tea Party conservative who attacked Bean over her vote in favor of the Affordable Care Act — by just a few hundred votes.
According to her campaign website, Bean helped create the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau during her time in Washington and worked to defend reproductive rights and pass laws to protect kids online.
After returning to the private sector, Bean launched her own consulting firm and worked at JPMorgan Chase and Mesirow Financial.
According to Morrison, affordability is the main issue for residents in the 8th District. He said in the WTTW New Voter Guide that he’ll work to lower prescription drug costs, expand affordable child care and universal pre-K and fight for a “pro-housing agenda.”
Ahmed similarly said he’ll fight to bring down costs for working families, while standing up to the Trump administration, abolishing Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, and implementing universal healthcare.
“As a nation we find ourselves in this situation because the Democratic Party is not fighting as hard as possible to fight back against Trump and his cronies,” he said in the WTTW News Voter Guide.
Bankole, who previously worked as a regional director for Durbin, said she wants to strengthen “essential” national social programs like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, while growing the middle class and restoring residents’ faith that their government can work for them.
“It’s time for the new leadership this moment demands,” she said in the WTTW News Voter Guide.
