Democrat Eric Sorensen and Republican Esther Joy King have won their respective party nominations to replace the retiring Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-IL) in Illinois’s 17th Congressional District in a crowded and competitive primary process for the soon-to-be-open seat.
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The Democratic primary in the district in the northwestern part of the state attracted candidates from various factions of the Democratic Party, from centrists to liberals.
Eric Sorensen, a former television meteorologist who campaigned on addressing climate change, emerged victorious from a field of six candidates. Sorensen would be Illinois’s first openly gay congressman.
King, an Army judge advocate general officer who pledged bipartisanship and an effort to bridge political divides, defeated Charlie Helmick, who sought to tie himself to former President Donald Trump, for the Republican nomination.
King ran against Bustos in 2020, an unsuccessful bid she lost by 4 percentage points. King has argued that she will fare better in 2022, in a Republican-leaning year and with the district redrawn, as Illinois lost a House seat due to slow population growth.
Bustos announced earlier this year she would not seek reelection for another term. Her 2020 victory was narrow after winning by more than 20 points the previous cycle.
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The race between Sorensen and King will be closely watched in November because the district is considered a “toss-up” by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.
