4 Candidates Vie For Republican Nomination In 11th Congressional District Of IL: Election 2026

Four candidates are vying to get the Republican nomination in the race for a seat in Illinois's 11th Congressional District in the 2026 Primary Election.

Tedora Brown, Charlie Kim, Mike Pierce and Jeffrey Walter will face off on March 17, with the winning candidate hoping to unseat incumbent Rep. Bill Foster (D-IL, 11) on November 3.

Below, you'll find information about each Republican candidate and where they stand on some of the current political issues.

Tedora Brown

Tedora Brown is the founder of Women in Construction of Illinois and serves as president of Scottland Development Corporation.

Brown has also served as president of The Dramon World Foundation, following the death of her son, 13, on a basketball court from myocarditis, her campaign website states.

In Brown was named a Woman of Excellence Award recipient in 2023.

On her campaign website, Brown outlines three campaign issues for her platform.

Immigration

"It is crazy that we have so many American veterans, seniors and poor people who get no help, while we cater to illegal aliens who have no right to be here," Brown's website states.

She asserts that "illegal aliens" have "drained taxpayer funded resources from our healthcare system, our education system, and even our SNAP system" by taking jobs intended for Americans and sending funds back to their home countries.

Education

On Brown's campaign website, she states that, since the start of the Federal Department of Education, "education scores and results have plummeted."

She aims to return education to local government to help mitigate these issues.

Seniors, Veterans

Advocating for seniors, minors, veterans and other vulnerable population members are among Brown's top campaign priorities, according to her website.

She writes that she will "constantly advocate for those who really need our help and have earned our help."

For Brown, this includes supporting anti-abortion measures.

Charlie Kim

An alumnus of Downers Grove North, Kim holds degrees in politics and international economics from Harvard, along with executive management and administration degrees from Harvard's business school.

Per Kim's website, his experience includes work with DuPage Illinois Legal Aid Services, the Second Appellate Court and U.S. Federal Courts and American Express Insurance and Financial Services. Kim has also volunteered at the U.S. Veteran Affairs Medical Center and for Illinois Legal Aid Services, his website states.

Immigration

On the topic of immigration, Kim's website states that "[o]ur government must defend our border by enforcing immigration laws and create a better plan for immigrants to assimilate into our communities. Incompetent politicians have made mistakes in budget and unwise migration policies that are stressing our infrastructure, limiting our resources, and oppressing our opportunities."

Kim's website states that he prefers support of the Secure Border Act of 2023 rather than the National Security and Border Act of 2024, which, he contends, "supports more assistance to foreign countries than the U.S.A."

Education

Per Kim's website, he supports the parental rights "to decide the wellbeing of students."

He continues, "Parents should have the right to choose for non-prejudice governmental influence and the best care of their children in public, private, or home-in schools. Our government must provide necessary resources to protect the safety of schools and support teachers and administrators with advanced learning tools of the 3 Rs (Reading, wRiting, and aRithmetic) and other resources that are requested by parents. By doing these essential acts, parents could entrust teachers with their precious children for the best possible education and preparation to be successful and happy in their lives."

Public Safety

"We need a better answer to improve our questionable criminal justice system, which should prioritize not easily releasing criminals into our communities without better preparation to adapt into society," Kim's website contends. "We must support rehabilitation over incarceration because this problem is not only local, but national."

He supports allowing "legal possession of guns and weapons" and adds." We must enact realistic improvements for gun safety regulations to support businesses and law enforcement agencies to cooperate and protect our schools and neighborhoods, defending our Constitutional rights to bear arms and defend ourselves. We have to avoid making unreasonable laws to blame gun manufacturers and law enforcement agents in which separate ideologies divide us to fight for different goals instead of supporting the unity for safety of our community and protecting citizens."

Mike Pierce

Mike Pierce is a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel and has a PhD in organizational leadership and a masters degree in human relations, according to his campaign website.

Pierce retired from the Army in 2012 after 20 years of service and then worked with U.S. European Command and U.S. AFRICOM as a Department of Defense Contractor.

He has been awarded an Iraq Campaign Medal, NATO Medal and Kosovo Campaign Medal, per his website.

Pierce is anti-abortion and supports Second Amendment rights.

Immigration

Pierce's campaign website states, "The damage wrought by uncontrolled mass migration is still causing havoc for Americans across the country despite the vast improvements in border security and reduction in illegal imigration [sic] under the new administration."

He asserts that "Democratic lawmakers turn a blind eye to the most obvious concerns of their constituents."

Pierce's campaign site states that permitting a "sufficient number of legal immigrants into the U.S." will help foster positive population growth and help increase gross domestic product per capita.

Education

Per Pierce's campaign site, "Community school boards are destroying their schools and losing their tax base by the way, by embracing this and other ideologies that are outside the main stream [sic] views of most Americans."

He believes public schools push "a thinly veiled socialist state ideology into our classrooms and homes."

He writes that he believes " it would be better to teach our young people more about the great things America has done, despite her missteps along the way."

Veterans

Pierce is in favor of improving programs that support veterans and veterans in transition.

He supports an automatic housing allowance for veterans who are 65 or older and are at the poverty line. Pierce also supports increasing contracts for veteran-owned small businesses and offering low-cost business loans and grants.

Jeffrey Walter

Jeffrey Walter is the Mayor of Elburn, Illinois, and a retired U.S. Navy Master Chief Petty Officer. He served in the Navy for more than 20 years, according to his campaign website.

Walter holds a masters degree in manufacturing management and a masters of business administration.

Immigration

Walter's campaign website asserts that "Biden's open border created chaos."

He vows to work with Trump to secure the southern border of the United States by finishing the border wall and stopping fentanyl and other drugs from making their way into the U.S.

Education

Seniors

Per Walter's campaign site, he will "never cut Social Security of Medicare." He writes, "Our seniors worked hard for these benefits, and they must be protected."

Foreign Policy

Walter's site states that he "trusts President Trump" and his approach to foreign policy, calling Trump the "best dealmaker to ever sit in the Oval Office, to negotiate peace in places like Ukraine while keeping America first."

Election Info For Voters

Early voting began Feb. 5 in several locations throughout Illinois.

On Election Day, March 17, the polls will open at 6 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. Voters who are in line by 7 p.m. will be able to cast their ballots.

Illinois voters can click the link to find their polling place.