Congressional primary campaigns in the Chicago area are heating up with just weeks remaining before voters will decide the candidates’ fates.
The 8th Congressional District, in the northwest suburbs, attracted national attention when the National Republican Congressional Committee added it to its list of 75 districts targeted for the fall general election.
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Tension was already evident in the Democratic primary, where two Indian American immigrants, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi and challenger Junaid Ahmed, clashed at a recent forum.
The incumbent criticized his challenger for tweeting in support of a protest that included the chants, “Nazis out, Raja must go,” and “Krishnamoorthi, murdabad,” an Urdu or Hindi word that Krishnamoorthi said means, “death to.”
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Krishnamoorthi called it “vile and violent” rhetoric that was like “lighting a match.”
Two University of Chicago professors who teach Hindi, the predominant language in India, said the word is a figure of speech used frequently in political slogans and widely understood to mean “down with,” and not to be taken literally, similar to “to hell with.”
Ahmed said he was not aware of the chant until Krishnamoorthi raised the issue, and he condemned such language.
A small technology business owners and consultant from South Barrington, Ahmed said he volunteered on behalf of Krishnamoorthi in 2016, though Krishnamoorthi said his campaign workers didn’t recall that.
Since then, Ahmed said, Krishnamoorthi had become beholden to special interests and political action committees, having raised more than $12 million cash on hand at the end of March, compared with $275,00 for Ahmed.
Ahmed called for forgiving student college debt and providing universal health care, saying that when his son spent a few days in a hospital, it cost $10,000.
“This race is about special interests versus the interests of the people,” Ahmed said, telling his opponent, “You have lost your way.”
Krishnamoorthi said he had challenged special interests, through measures such as curbing youth vaping. He supported the $1 trillion federal infrastructure act, and co-sponsored passage of the Dr. Lorna Breen law, to provide mental health care and suicide prevention for medical workers. He emphasized his endorsements by Planned Parenthood, the Sierra Club, teachers and labor unions.
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Previously, Krishnamoorthi, of Schaumburg, served in Illinois as an assistant attorney general, and then as a deputy state treasurer, before working in the private sector heading small technology businesses.
On the Republican ballot in the 8th District, five candidates are competing for the nomination: Chad Koppie of Gilberts, Peter Kopsaftis of South Barrington, Phillip Wood of Carol Stream, Karen Kolodziej of Itasca, and Chris Dargis of Palatine.
Koppie, a farmer and retired airline pilot, has been a frequent candidate for various offices for years, including the Senate in 2016. He once campaigned on an interstate highway on his tractor until police made him stop. He supports gun rights and opposes abortion rights.
Kopsaftis is a Greek immigrant, Army veteran, and Republican committeeman who develops commercial properties. He called for lowering inflation and taxes, and opposes illegal immigration.
Wood is a pastor who’s worked with at-risk youth and the homeless, and as a counselor with the DuPage County Health Department, who said he’s running to protect unborn lives from abortion.
Kolodziej describes herself as “not a politician,” but a caretaker for her mother. She is an “America First” candidate whose website states, regarding COVID, “Don’t think they won’t create a new virus so they can win an election, get rich, and stay in control.”
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Dargis is a retired Navy officer who once studied in Russia, and worked as an executive in retail. He called for energy independence, lowering inflation, and funding law enforcement to lower crime. He had $242,000 cash on hand by the end of March, far more than his Republican opponents.
In the 5th Congressional District, which will stretch from Chicago’s north and northwest sides to Barrington, incumbent Democrat Mike Quigley has been elected six times, and faces no challenger in the primary.
On the Republican side, commercial real estate broker Tom Hanson of Chicago is trying again after Quigley got more than 70% of the vote against him in 2020 and 2018. He opposes automatic citizenship for those born to noncitizens, and compares global warming to Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny.
He faces political newcomer Malgorzata McGonigal, a Polish immigrant who lives in North Barrington, who emphasized fighting crime, improving education and a flat tax.
In the 2nd Congressional District, which stretches from Chicago’s South Side to past Kankakee, incumbent Democrat Robin Kelly has served since 2013, and is unopposed in the primary.
The three candidates on the Republican side are former state Rep. and Sen. Shane Cultra of Onarga, Ashley Ramos of Bradley, and Thomas Lynch of Cissna Park.
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In the 4th District, primarily on the city’s Southwest Side, incumbent Democrat Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia is unopposed, while Jamas Falakos, a heating and cooling business owner from Westchester, is the lone Republican.
Incumbent Democrat Jan Schakowsky of Evanston and Republican challenger, energy consultant and stand-up comedian Max Rice, of Northbrook, who ran unsuccessfully in 2018, are unopposed in the 9th District, which stretches from Chicago’s Rogers Park to far northwest Lake in the Hills.
In the 10th, Republican Joseph Severino, of Lake Forest, is the lone candidate to challenge incumbent Democrat Rep. Brad Schneider, of Highland Park.
Downstate, in the 12th District, Democrat Homer “Chip” Markel, of Carbondale, and Joshua Qualls, of Centralia, will face off June 28 to determine who will challenge incumbent Republican Mike Bost, of Murpysboro, in November.
