14th Congressional: Underwood To Take On Hultgren This Fall

Lauren Underwood is ready to flip the 14th Congressional District. U.S. Rep. Randy Hultgren has held the seat in the traditionally Republican district, which represents the far western and northern suburbs, since 2011. But even with seven candidates running in the Democratic primary, Underwood won her party’s nomination by a landslide Tuesday night, capturing over 57 percent of the vote.

Underwood, a nurse from Naperville, worked for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under President Barack Obama. She knows the 14th Congressional District is likely a safe bet for Republicans this fall, according to NPR. The Cook Political Report–a nonpartisan newsletter that analyzes elections and campaigns–lists the district as likely Republican, which puts Hultgren on track for a fifth term.

But Underwood is ready for the challenge.

"This seat is 100 percent at play. It's winnable," Underwood told NPR.

Underwood has joined a record number of women running for political office, according to Forbes. Hillary Clinton’s loss in the 2016 election, women’s marches and the “Me Too” campaign has prompted more women to sign up for run for political office, according to media reports. And many, like Underwood, are first-time female candidates and overwhelmingly Democratic, according to TIME.

Underwood has been featured or quoted in lengthy articles appearing in TIME and Forbes that focuses on the influx of female candidates. There has also been a surge in black women candidates, USA Today reports.

“I’m running in the community I grew up in,” Underwood told USA Today. "This could very easily be a similar story of a woman’s leadership journey if I was a white woman. I just happen to be black."

On Tuesday, Lauren Underwood won the Democratic primary with 27,651 votes, or 57.3 percent of the vote total, leading Matt Brolley, village president for Montgomery, who had 6,538 votes or with 13.4 percent of the primary vote, according to unofficial AP results posted on Chicago Sun-Times.

Here is a look at how the five other candidates fared in Tuesday's Democratic primary for the 14th Congressional District:

• Jim Walz: 4,796 (9.8 percent)
• Victor Swanson: 3,434 (7 percent)
• John Hosta: 2,492 (5.1 percent)
• George Weber: 2,465 (5 percent)
• Daniel Roldan-Johnson: 1,118 (2.3 percent)

Hultgren has represented the 14th District since 2011. The district, which makes up the western portion of the suburbs and reaches into the exurbs, has been a solid Republican area, according to the Daily Herald.

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As for her decision to run office, Underwood said her defining moment came after she attended Hultgren's "one-and-only public event" last spring at the Arcada Theater in St. Charles. Underwood, who worked to implement the Affordable Care Act under Obama's administration and has a pre-existing health condition, was interested to hear from him on health care, Underwood said during a candidate forum in February. Underwood's heart condition had her in and out of doctor's offices while in grade school but is well-controlled now.

"And he promised, at this event, he was not going to vote for a version of the Affordable Care Act repeal that made it more difficult for folks with pre-existing conditions to afford healthcare coverage," Underwood said at a candidate forum in Kendall County in February.

About 10 days later, Hultgren voted for the American Healthcare Act that "did the opposite of his promise," Underwood said.

"And I got angry. And it wasn't because of the vote. It's because he didn't have the integrity to be honest with us the one time he was planning to stand for our community," Underwood said. "And that is not what a representative is supposed to do."

"I decided in that instant. It's on. I'm running."

The 14th District contains portions of Lake, McHenry, Kane, DuPage and Kendall counties.

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More On Lauren Underwood

Underwood's top priority is ensuring the safety and security of families. She supports a continued investment in local schools and measures to create affordable child care, paid family leave and a full range of reproductive health services.

When it comes to the economy, Underwood says there needs to be an investment in small businesses. In addition "we need to stop the layoffs; we need to embrace the freelance and gig economy; we need to incentivize employers to hire out-of-work or underemployed individuals; and we need to invest in new and emerging sectors that can generate jobs for the 21st century," Underwood writes on her website.

Updates to local infrastructure is needed: from rehabbing highways and bridges to supporting more commuter rail stops for DeKalb and Kendall counties.

Underwood says the Affordable Care Act needs some fine-tuning and supports the following policies to improve the law: stabilizing the health insurance marketplaces by providing long-term commitment to cost-sharing reductions, including more help for middle class families, reigning in the soaring cost of prescription drugs and investing in comprehensive mental health care."

As far as addressing the opioid epidimic, she says politicians need to come together to come up with a fully-funded, comprehensive solution that will address prevention, treatment and recovery, according to her campaign website.

More via Underwood's campaign website

More via Hultgren's website

Photo via Lauren Underwood's Facebook page