Former congresswoman wins primary to take back former suburban Chicago seat

Melissa Bean, the former congresswoman who represented Illinois’ 8th Congressional District more than a decade ago, has won Tuesday’s primary election to retake the seat from retiring Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., who is running for Senate.

Bean entered Tuesday with a reported fundraising advantage of more than $1 million in the primary in the district, a Democrat-friendly zigzag of Chicago suburbs in Cook, Kane and DuPage counties west of the city proper.

Bean last represented the district from 2005 to 2011, when she was upset during the Tea Party wave as now-former Rep. Joe Walsh — one of President Donald Trump’s biggest GOP critics — eked out a victory by less than half a percentage point.

Walsh was eventually defeated by now-Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., who herself was replaced by Krishnamoorthi, a native of New Delhi, India.

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Krishnamoorthi hopes to be the latest senator elected from the district, as he vies to replace the retiring Land of Lincoln Democratic mainstay Sen. Richard Durbin.

Prior to Bean’s first tenure, Republican Phil Crane held the seat beginning in 1969, and before him, future Bush Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld — reflecting a marked political lurch to the left in the Chicago area in recent years.

IT consultant Junaid Ahmed faced off against Bean and other candidates in Tuesday’s race, running on a more progressive platform.

Ahmed’s platform included “realizing self-determination for Palestine and ending the Israeli occupation of Gaza and the West Bank,” according to the local CBS affiliate, as well as Medicaid expansion, green energy investments and canceling student loan debt.

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Candidate and former Krishnamoorthi aide Yasmeen Bankole was endorsed by Durbin. Bankole is currently a trustee for the village of Highland Park, Illinois, and also supports a Medicare-for-all plan, undoing President Donald Trump’s tariffs and raising the minimum wage, according to the outlet.

Other candidates in the race included business executive Sanjyot Dunung, activist Neil Khot, Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison, Army JAG officer Dan Tully and ex-DOJ counterterrorism staffer Ryan Vetticad.

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The Democratic victor is expected to be moderately favored in November given the current political makeup of the D+5 district, and will face the winner of the Republican primary.

Candidates there included accountant Kevin Ake, software company owner Jennifer Davis, retired Chicago cop Herbert Hebein, and business executive Mark Rice.