Casten Defeats Mazeski, Will Take On Roskam In 6th District

WHEATON, IL — Fervent climate change and clean air advocate Sean Casten scraped by in narrow victory to defeat Kelly Mazeski for the Illinois 6th Congressional District Democratic nomination. He'll take on incumbent Peter Roskam in November in an effort to flip the 6th district.

Casten, a Downers Grove native, won with 29.9 percent of the vote, 18,863 total votes. Mazeski trailed him with 16,686 votes, giving her 26.5 percent.
These results were delayed for hours after a software issue held up vote counting in DuPage County.

The race to unseat Roskam was billed as one of the most important races to watch in the nation. Seven Democrats fought for the chance to oust Roskam from the seat he's held since 2007.

In his victory statement, Casten said, "We need to work together tirelessly to reach every voter in the 6 th district and let them know that Peter Roskam is a right-wing extremist whose voting record shows that he has turned his back on his constituents and our communities."

The attention focused on District 6 stems from the fact that the majority of constituents voted for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election, despite the fact that the district is historically Republican. The cry for someone to "flip the 6th" continued as Roskam declined to hold town-hall meetings in person and was accused by some of trying to avoid his constituents.

Casten shared a tweet Tuesday that suggested the district as a whole may be ready for a change come November.

RESULTS

• Sean Casten – 29.9% (projected winner)
• Carole Cheney – 17.4%
• Amanda Howland– 12.4%
• Ryan Huffman – 3.8%
• Kelly Mazeski – 26.5%
• Becky Anderson Wilkins – 6.1%
• Jennifer Zordani– 4.1%

Roskam's potential challengers included two men and five women. Three of those women are cancer survivors who are dedicated to protecting affordable health care, an issue that Roskam has historically voted against.

Related: DuPage County Technical Issues Delay Election Results

The roster of House hopefuls also included Amanda Howland, civil rights attorney and renal cancer survivor; Jennifer Zordani, lawyer and Clarendon Hills resident; Ryan Huffman, data analyst and former White House intern; Carole Cheney, lawyer and former District Chief of Staff for Illinois' 11th District Rep. Bill Foster (D); and Becky Anderson Wilkins, owner of Anderson's Bookshop and breast cancer survivor.

(last updated 11:15 p.m.)

For more information on each candidate check out our guide to the Illinois 6th Congressional District candidates.

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