CHICAGO — With just four days remaining until the primary election, a bustling group of candidates is vying to take over the seat from Congresswoman Robin Kelly, who has set her sights on a U.S. Senate run.
Stretching from Kenwood to Danville and westward to Pontiac, Illinois’ Second Congressional District is witnessing a heated Democratic primary. The race features well-known contenders and substantial financial influence from super PACs. As the campaign enters its final stretch, ABC7 engaged with the top three candidates to gather their thoughts.
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One of these candidates, former Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr., was out meeting constituents over meals at Valois in Hyde Park, making the most of the dwindling days of his campaign trail.
“I’m hopeful that our message resonated with the people, and they are eager for the Second Congressional District to advance rather than regress,” Jackson expressed.
Meanwhile, Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller spent her Friday connecting with voters in Matteson, aiming to emerge as the candidate of choice through consensus.
“I see myself as a consensus builder, someone who can bridge divides and initiate dialogue across the aisle. While agreement isn’t guaranteed, opening up conversations is crucial, and that’s what’s missing in Washington right now,” Miller stated.
ABC7 also caught up with Illinois state Sen. Robert Peters before an event on the South Side.
“This is one of the most working-class districts. People’s health care is being cut. People are losing their housing. People are struggling every day. They want to see people in Congress fighting to make their lives easier. That is our jobs,” Peters said.
Super PACs are spending millions on this race. AIPAC, the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee, is running pro-Miller ads. Think Big, an AI PAC, is boosting Jackson’s campaign, while Fairshake, a crypto PAC, is attacking Peters. So, are the candidates concerned about such outside influences?
“The Illinois Second Congressional District is a working-class, Black district, and having these billionaire, right-wing donors coming and trying to buy up this scene is a real concern that we should all be worried about,” Peters said.
“What I’m hearing from voters is, mainly the media and my opponents are the ones talking about all these issues. We’re not hearing that from the community. That’s not what they’re focused on,” Miller said.
“There’s been no coordination, but they certainly heard my openness to the idea that we’re not running from economic opportunity for our district,” Jackson said.
Whoever voters select in the Democratic primary will be favored to win the congressional seat in November.
“We’ve hid nothing about my past convictions. And so, voters who are voting for me in this race are solid voters, because they don’t have any more questions,” Jackson said.
“People in my district know me. I represent, already, 27% of this district. I, also, the largest voting bloc population in this district is African American women over the age of 55; that’s me,” Miller said.
“We have Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, the Working Families Party, a whole bunch of progressive labor unions and progressive groups that are doing work side-by-side with us. We believe we have the coalition that we can win on Election Day,” Peters said.
With only four days until the election, the candidates do not have much time to influence last-minute voters, but they will be doing everything possible to reach as many as they can.
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