Dozens File To Run For U.S. House Seats
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Dozens of people have filed to run for Illinois' 18 seats in the U.S. House.
As WBBM Newsradio's Keith Johnson reports, the Illinois Board of Elections says 78 people have submitted paperwork for the March primary election.
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Democrats Tammy Duckworth and Raja Krishnamoorthi will fight for the right to challenge U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.) in the 8th District.
Walsh's district in the north and northwest suburbs was recently redrawn, and will be closer to Chicago and cover areas more favorable to Democrats in the next election.
Duckworth lost the 6th District Congressional race to U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.) in 2006. She went on to head up the state Veterans Affairs Department, and serve as U.S. Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs under President Barack Obama.
Krishnamoorthi, a former deputy Illinois Treasurer, ran unsuccessfully last year in the Democratic primary for state Comptroller. He lost to David Miller, who in turn lost to Republican Judy Baar Topinka.
Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) in the 2nd District is facing Debbie Halvorson – who lost her 11th District seat to Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) last year. The redrawn 2nd District remains predominantly African-American, but now stretches far beyond Chicago – as far south as Kankakee – and southwest, including Crete – Havlorson's quiet, semi-rural hometown.
In October, Halvorson told CBS 2's Derrick Blakley she knows Jackson could well spend six times more on this race than she'll be able to raise, but as a former Congresswoman, Halvorson said she also knows the new 2nd District intimately and believes voters are crying out for a choice.
"I don't see what he's done in his last 15 years as far as bringing jobs to the area," Halvorson said in October. "We've got unemployment that is still skyrocketing and there are people that are hurting."
Meanwhile in the redrawn 11th District, Kinzinger will be up against a fellow incumbent – Rep. Donald Manzullo (R-Ill.), who now represents the 16th District but has found himself in the 11th after redistricting. Manzullo serves as the Chairman of Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific in Congress.
In the 9th District, located along the north lakefront and in the northern suburbs, Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) faces a primary challenge from Sam Riberio, a Catholic high school teacher from Evanston who ran against Schakowsky as a Green Party member in 2010, according to Patch.com.
Schakowsky will also face one of two Republican challengers – Arlington Heights accountant Timothy Wolfe and Des Plaines resident Susanna Atanus, Patch.com reported.
The Board of Elections says candidates will get a chance to challenge each other's nominating petitions before officials finalize the ballot.
