NRCC MEMO: ILLINOIS PRIMARY RESULTS
March 20, 2020
| TO: INTERESTED PARTIES FROM: NRCC COMMUNICATIONS DATE: MARCH 20, 2020 SUBJECT: ILLINOIS PRIMARY RESULTS |
| Despite campaigning as moderates, Illinois Democrats went to Washington and voted in lockstep with the Democrats’ socialist agenda. Now they will be forced to defend their support for impeachment, open borders and tax hikes. Meanwhile, Republicans are working to retake seats in historically Republican districts. With President Trump at the top of the ticket, conservative turnout will be at presidential levels, which was not the case two years ago. GOP candidates will be on offense while Democrat incumbents will be struggling to answer for their socialist voting records and inability to deliver what they promised on the campaign trail. IL-06: Sean Casten (D) vs. Jeanne Ives (R) Sean Casten campaigned on combatting climate change and bringing common sense back to Washington, but as soon as he landed in D.C., Casten abandoned his constituents and fell right in line with his socialist Democrat Party. He’s voted with New York socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez 96% of the time and Speaker Pelosi 100% of the time. Not only that, Casten has accomplished nothing he said he would for Illinois families; instead he was among the first in Congress to support impeaching and removing the president from office, which even he admitted was not a top issue for voters. Illinois State Representative Jeanne Ives is a West Point graduate who served in the U.S. Army before heading to the state legislature to focus on balancing the budget and lowering taxes. Ives will represent a stark contrast with Casten and his liberal record. PVI: R +2 2016 Presidential Results: Trump: 43% Clinton: 49.9% (+6.9) Ratings: Cook Rating – Lean Dem; Inside Elections – Solid Dem Geography: Illinois’ 6th Congressional District includes the Chicago suburbs. Five counties make up this district: Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake and McHenry. The largest of these is DuPage which makes up 52% of the district. The district is entirely in the Chicago Designated Market Area (DMA). IL-13: Betsy Dirksen Londrigan (D) vs. Rodney Davis (R) After losing in 2018, former lobbyist and far-left extremist Betsy Dirksen Londrigan emerges from the Democrat primary clinging to her party’s extreme socialist agenda. Londrigan supports radical policies like unrestricted late-term abortion and socialized health care which would wipe out 40 rural hospitals in Illinois. Londrigan also came out in support of impeaching President Trump while running in a district the president won by 5 points in 2016. That is a recipe for defeat. Meanwhile, Rodney Davis has established himself as an effective lawmaker who is able to work with his colleagues on both sides of the aisle to pass legislation. Davis has worked with President Trump to deliver on policies that have improved the economic well-being of Illinois families, including the reworked USMCA trade deal, which has been a boon to local businesses. PVI: R +3 2016 Presidential Results: Trump: 49.5% (+5.2) Clinton: 44.3% Ratings: Cook Rating – Toss Up; Inside Elections – Toss Up Geography: Illinois’ 13th Congressional District stretches from the western border to the center of the state. Four counties make up 65% of this district: Champaign, Macon, Madison and Sangamon. There are three DMAs within the district: Champaign (60%), St. Louis (32%) and Peoria – Bloomington (8%). IL-14: Fake Nurse Lauren Underwood (D) vs. Jim Oberweis (R) Lauren Underwood is a far-left, radical socialist who is the wrong representative for a Republican district that President Trump won in 2016. She is also a fake nurse, as the New York Times confirmed she “never specifically worked with patients,” despite airing campaign ads depicting her as a nurse treating patients. Fake Nurse Lauren also campaigned as a moderate but is a rubber stamp for her party’s extreme socialist agenda in Washington, voting with New York socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez 96% of the time and Speaker Nancy Pelosi 100% of the time. Underwood’s liberal voting record has earned her the endorsement of the most radical liberal PAC in the country. Underwood also voted to remove President Trump from office, despite his 4-point win in the district. Jim Oberweis is a well-known, successful entrepreneur who will uphold the conservative values of a district President Trump carried in 2016. Jim’s career of creating jobs in Illinois and running a small business stands in stark contrast to Fake Nurse Lauren Underwood, a career bureaucrat who wants to tax Illinois families into oblivion to pay for her party’s socialist agenda. PVI: R +5 2016 Presidential Results: Trump: 48.7% (+3.9) Clinton: 44.8% Ratings: Cook Rating – Toss Up; Inside Elections – Toss Up Geography: Illinois’ 14th Congressional District is situated north of Chicago. The district is made up of seven different counties, the largest are McHenry and Kane which make up 56% of the district. The DMA is 100% Chicago. IL-17: Cheri Bustos (D) vs. Esther Joy King (R) Cheri “Beltway” Bustos abandoned her constituents to focus on her role in Washington, D.C. as Chairwoman of the DCCC. When she’s not ignoring her constituents, Bustos is working against their interests, refusing to condemn her party’s partial birth abortion policy, voting to give herself $5 million of public funds for her reelection bid and trying to impeach and remove President Trump from office. Republican candidate Esther Joy King brings new conservative energy to a district whose current representative is a career politician who has lost touch with Illinois values. King is an Army reserve officer who grew up homeless on the U.S.-Mexico border. King knows firsthand the importance of ensuring freedom prevails over socialism and will bring that fight to Congress in November. PVI: D+3 2016 Presidential Results: Trump: 47.4% (+.07) Clinton: 46.7% Ratings: Cook Rating – Likely Dem; Inside Elections – Safe Dem Geography: Illinois’ 17th Congressional District located in the Northwest corner of Illinois. The largest counties in the district are Rock Island, Peoria, and Winnebago. Together, they make up 44% of the district. The DMA is made up of Davenport (55.6%), Peoria (24.3%) and Rockford (20.1%). STATEWIDE ROUNDUP The following are unofficial results from Tuesday’s primary elections in Illinois. * indicates winner determined by AP IL-06 – GOP Jeanne M. Ives* 71% Gordon Kinzler 29% (79% of Precincts Reporting) IL-06 – DEM Sean Casten Uncontested IL-13 – GOP Rodney Davis Uncontested IL-13 – DEM Betsy Dirksen Londrigan* 76% Stefanie Smith 24% (93% of Precincts Reporting) IL-14 – GOP Jim Oberweis* 26% Sue Rezin 23% Catalina Lauf 20% Ted Gradel 13% James Marter 11% Jerry Evans 5% Anthony Catella 2% (100% of Precincts Reporting) IL-14 – DEM Lauren Underwood Uncontested IL-17 – GOP Esther Joy King* 65% Bill Falwell 35% (97% of Precincts Reporting) IL-17 – DEM Cheri Bustos Uncontested |