An immigration lawyer from Rockford will take on incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger in the race for the 16th Congressional district this fall.
Sara Dady beat three other candidates to win the Democratic nomination. She says her first priority, now that the primary is over, is to get Kinzinger to commit to at least four debates.
As for issues, Dady says, “I know, as a businesswoman, we need universal health care in this country. Not only did I lose my mother because she didn’t have access to health care, I know the burden that it is on small businesses.”
Other priority issues for Dady include strengthening the education system and protecting workers’ rights to unionize.
On the Republican side, James Marter says he hopes Kinzinger presents a very different choice for voters. Marter lost to Kinzinger in the GOP primary, portraying the incumbent as “too liberal.”
“Hopefully, this race, I pulled him to the right,” said Marter, “and the support I had shows him he needs to stay with the values he campaigned on.”
Kinzinger is seeking his fifth term representing the district that curves around the Chicago suburbs from the Wisconsin border to the Indiana border.
16th District primary results 100% of precincts reporting
Democrats
- Sara Dady: 16,928 -- 40.6%
- Neill Mohammad: 11,302 -- 27.1%
- Amy "Murri" Briel: 8,101 -- 19.4%
- Beth Vercolio-Osmund: 5,332 -- 12.8%
Republicans
- Adam Kinzinger: 44,535 -- 68.0%
- Jim Marter: 20,985 -- 32.0%
In the 14th District, incumbent Republican Randy Hultgren will face Lauren Underwood, a registered nurse from Naperville, in November's election.
Underwood far outpaced six opponents in the Democratic primary Tuesday.
The district -- where Hultgren has served since 2011 -- includes parts or all of McHenry, Lake, Kendall, Kane, DuPage, DeKalb and Will counties.
14th District primary results 100% of precincts reporting
Democrats
- Lauren Underwood: 28,074 -- 57.4%
- Matthew Brolley: 6,538 -- 13.4%
- Jim Walz: 4,796 -- 9.8%
- Victor Swanson: 3,434 -- 7.0%
- John Hosta: 2,492 -- 5.1%
- George Weber: 2,465 -- 5.0%
- Daniel Roldan-Johnson: 1,118 -- 2.3%
Republicans
- Randy Hultgren (uncontested)
WNIJ's Jenna Dooley contributed to this report.
