Congressional Races to Watch in Illinois

T-6 days until Election Day, and Chicago voters have big decisions to make on their ballots, including which lawmakers to elect. Here are the U.S. Congress races we’re watching.

4th District

Ald. Ray Lopez, 15th Ward, wants Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García’s seat representing the Southwest Side and west suburbs. It is a rematch of sorts between the Democrats: The progressive incumbent and the more conservative alder both ran for mayor last year.

7th District

Rep. Danny Davis has represented the district — which covers the West Side as well as parts of the South Side and downtown — for almost 30 years. But four other Democrats are hoping to unseat him next week.

• Community organizer Kina Collins is challenging the 82-year-old lawmaker for a third time after narrowly losing to him in 2022.
• Amid ethics allegations, City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin is also throwing her hat into the race.
• Educator Nikhil Bhatia and former Gov. JB Pritzker staffer Kouri Marshall are also running.

12th District

All eyes are on the Republican primary in this downstate race: Former state Sen. Darren Bailey is challenging Rep. Mike Bost in one of Illinois' most conservative districts. Bost, who calls himself a “governing conservative,” got former President Donald Trump’s endorsement while Bailey is backed by Reps. Matt Gaetz of Florida and Mary Miller of Illinois.