CHICAGO (WLS) — In Chicago’s suburbs, there are three hotly-contested House races and the candidates have been spending heavily on ads, to get their word out.
With less than a day to go before Election Day, the back and forth over the television airwaves resembles a boxing match.
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Those dedicated to the Illinois Congressional races taking on an added importance as Republicans are vying to wrest control of the House of Representatives away from the Democratic Party.
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“It’s not a surprise to anyone that what we’re expecting to see in January is Speaker McCarthy in control, the Republicans taking control of the House,” said Dr. Suzanne Chod, a political scientist at North Central College. “Really the question is how many seats are Democrats going to lose?”
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Naperville’s North Central College, where Professor Suzanne Chod teaches, sits at the crossroads of what are seen as three of the most hotly-contested races in the area: the 6th, 11th and 14th districts, all of which were recently redrawn, and all of which have Democratic incumbents running.
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“Every seat that the Democrats can hold on to gives them an advantage,” said ABC7 political analyst Laura Washington. “Gives them more of a voice in Congress. Gives them more leverage.”
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But even as these districts are running tighter races than expected, will any of them flip?
With 70% of the 14th District’s voters being new, Lauren Underwood’s race against Scott Gryder has received a lot attention, even bringing President Biden to town this weekend. And even Bill Foster’s race against Catalina Lauf in the 11th District has become more competitive.
“There’s this perception that there’s momentum and that it’s headed in the Republican direction,” Washington said. “That the Democrats fared well over the summer, but that in the fall, the momentum shifted.”
And yet, some believe none of these three districts will actually flip and that the non-stop ads are simply ways for each party to mobilize its base, and for political action groups to plant the seed for future election cycles.
“In some ways, Republicans are playing the long game in some of these districts that they don’t necessarily expect to flip tomorrow, but maybe two years from now,” Chod said.
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