Brian Scopa, Saba Haider Vie For IL District 84 Seat In Nov. 3 General Election

For the first time in more than a decade, the 84th District of the Illinois House of Representatives will be helmed by a new politician after voters cast their ballots in the Nov. 3 general election.

Democrat Saba Haider will face off against Republican Brian Scopa, the only Republican who sought the party's nominee in March's primary election.

Incumbent Stephanie Kifowit, a Democrat who has represented District 84 since 2013, chose not to seek an eighth term. Instead, she is running in hopes of becoming Illinois's next comptroller, succeeding Susana Mendoza, who announced in July that she would not seek a fourth term.

With a population of about 110,200, Illinois's 84th District covers Aurora, Oswego, Naperville and Montgomery.

Haider won the primary election with about 65 percent of the vote, overtaking challenger Jared Ploger.

A member of the DuPage County Health Department Board of Health, Haider campaigned to lower costs for working families, fight back against federal overreach, and invest in education and public service.

"I know firsthand the struggles our working families are going through, and I want to work with our elected officials to find solutions to the problems we all face," she wrote on her campaign website. "I will use every tool available to ensure public safety, economic growth, and environmental sustainability so that ALL of our families can succeed."

Haider's leadership experience includes serving as director of the Indian Prairie Educational Foundation and chairperson of the DuPage County Strategic Planning Committee and Environmental Committee.

Scopa, a retired naval commander who served for 22 years, will vie against Haider to represent the 84th District. He said he is the "discipline Springfield is missing."

Scopa plans to focus on empowering families by strengthening parental rights and advancing school choice, restoring fiscal discipline and economic opportunity, defending constitutional freedoms and individual rights, supporting law enforcement and public safety, and promoting transparency and accountability in state government, according to his campaign website.

During his time in the Navy, Scopa was deployed six times to combat zones, served as chief engineer aboard a 9,000-ton destroyer, and managed a budget of more than $60 million for 55,000 reservists while he was a surface warfare officer.

"After two decades of service to our country, I'm ready to serve my community," Scopa wrote. "Illinois needs leaders who understand what it means to lead with integrity, defend our freedoms, and restore trust in our institutions."