The Democrats who represent Chicago and its suburbs in Washington were widely expected to win, having collectively outraised their Republican challengers by a 16-to-1 margin.
One of those challengers, Glen Ellyn Republican Niki Conforti, who took on three-term Democratic Rep. Sean Casten, of Downers Grove, in the 6th District, went so far as to ask the press to “respect our privacy” and not plan to attend her election night gathering at a Countryside sports bar.
In the 1st District, representing the South Side and southwest suburbs, first-term Rep. Jonathan Jackson, the son of the Rev. Jesse Jackson, defeated Republican Marcus Lewis, a Trump supporter who in an interview with the Tribune called the Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, “a dummy” who was “selected by the devil” to run for president. Jackson lead Lewis 64% to 36%, with about 93% of the estimated voted counted, according to the AP.
Rep. Robin Kelly, of Matteson, also won reelection, according to the AP. She has held the seat since 2013, when Jackson’s brother, Jesse Jackson Jr., resigned from Congress amid a federal corruption probe. Kelly’s challenger for the seat representing the 2nd District, which stretches from the south suburbs to Danville, was Ashley Ramos, a Latina Republican from rural Clifton. Kelly was beating Ramos 67% to 33%, with an estimated 96% of the vote counted.
In the 6th District, Rep. Sean Casten, of Downers Grove, won a fourth term representing territory that ranges from west suburban Lombard to south suburban Tinley Park, facing a challenge from Republican Niki Conforti, a Glen Ellyn businesswoman. Casten had nearly 54% of the vote, a 7-point lead over Conforti, with 97% of the estimated vote counted.