Casten Faces GOP Challenger Conforti In 6th District: Election 2024 Results
ILLINOIS — U.S. Rep. Sean Casten is looking to retain his U.S. House seat in the reconfigured Illinois 6th Congressional District. His Republican challenger, Niki Conforti , is looking to flip it from the "radical" Casten and return it back to the Republicans, who held the seat for 12 years prior to Casten.
Ever since 2018, when Casten toppled the six-term Republican Peter Roskam in the old 6th District before the remapping, Republicans have been eyeing flipping the district back.
The district's boundaries were redrawn in 2021 following the decennial census. Casten watched his district, which encompassed much of DuPage County, get parsed down to 21 percent of the old 6th District that helped him unseat Roskam in 2018 into a wide swath of the former 3rd District Dan Lipinski territory.
The 6th District now includes all or sections of the suburban Cook County communities of Alsip, Chicago Ridge, Palos Heights, Worth, Crestwood, Oak Forest, Oak Lawn, Tinley Park, Orland Park, Orland Hills, Palos Hills, Palos Heights, Hickory Hills, Justice; extending into the Chicago neighborhoods of Clearing, Beverly and Mount Greenwood; and in DuPage County, Downers Grove, Oak Brook, Oak Brook Terrace, Lisle, Wheaton, Glen Ellyn, Lombard, Elmhurst Darien, Hinsdale and Willow Springs.
Unlike the rollicking 2022 congressional race in which Casten warded off a stiff challenge from Republican Keith Pekau , the current mayor of Orland Park, Conforti has been making headlines siding with former President Trump on issues like abortion and immigration.
Candidates Make Their Case
According to an internal poll conducted by the Conforti campaign of 500 likely voters between June 3 and June 6, the Glen Ellyn republican claims there are still 21 percent of 6th District voters who remain undecided. Conforti's own internal poll showed her trailing 35 percent to Casten's 44 percent, she said in a news release.
"With the Democrat Party in disarray over the lack of leadership from Joe Biden, and his recent withdrawal, now is the time for Republicans to stand up and show that we have common sense solutions. I hope to communicate how our Republican policies will benefit the voters as we approach the upcoming November election," Conforti said.
Conforti purports to have the stronger bio of both candidates. She is a graduate of the University of Chicago School of Economics and has an MBA in Healthcare Administration from George Washington University in Washington, DC. She accuses Casten of not representing the people of the 6th District.
"[Casten] is voting against the people of this district and against all American citizens every chance he gets. He voted against HR 7909 and HR 7511 , which protects women against violence from illegals. He voted against HR 6678 , which protects seniors against fraud. He voted against HR 7343 , which protects law enforcement. He voted against HR 734 , which protects women and girls in sports."
If she wins, Conforti said she will use the power of her vote to protect family and faith-based values and promote peace. Additionally, when in Congress, she says she will work towards energy independence.
According to Conforti's website, she stands for:
Affordable Health Care: She will push for real reform of the Affordable Health Care Act with increased transparency in billing, which will foster competition among healthcare systems.
Debt Ceiling: Conforti said she is not in favor of raising the debt ceiling.
Economy: She calls today's economy "fragile."
"Our economy is struggling at its core, and threats of a recession are still looming. In fact, if they hadn't changed the definition of a recession to suit their agenda, we would already be considered in a recession."
Education: Conforti stated that it's to get back to the basics – reading, writing and arithmetic.
"We also must address what is being done to water down curriculums nationwide and fill our kids' heads with opinions rather than facts. We need to give our kids the tools to succeed. I support helping our kids improve their critical thinking skills—not being told what to think.
"We must end the sexualization of our kids and protect parental rights."
Election Integrity: Conforti favors showing a photo ID to vote.
"Recent events have brought to light problems with our election processes.
"I will push to re-implement the need for 3 forms of ID to register to vote, and proof of ID at the polling booth."
Immigration: "The crisis at our southern border continues to be a national crisis. Millions of migrants have entered illegally without consideration of their criminal or health history. It is threatening our communities by increasing drug trafficking, bringing more criminals into our country, and costing taxpayers billions. This, combined with Illinois' sanctuary state policies, are putting us all at risk.
The federal government must enforce the laws on the southern border and continue constructing the wall."
Police and Law Enforcement: Conforti also says that the radical left attack on police has to end.
"The 'defund the police' and 'end cash bail' agendas are detrimental to the safety of our communities. They make our families less safe. I oppose releasing violent felons on their own recognizance, and I oppose defunding our local police departments."
Taxes: Conforti said she would work to curb the "left's radical spending" which increases taxes.
Abortion/Reproductive Rights: Conforti said she is proudly pro-life with the exception of rape, incest and life of the mother and opposes the Democrats' radical abortion agenda.
"Sean Casten's support for taxpayer funded and late term abortions is despicable and is directly in opposition with the values of his constituents. In Congress, I will proudly stand for life."
Read more on Conforti's stands on the issues .
Conforti has garnered endorsements from Glen Ellyn Village President Mark Senak , the Polish American Police Association , the Italian American Political Coalition , Illinois Family Action , DuPage County Coroner Richard Jorgensen, MD , DuPage County GOP Chair and County Board Official Jim Zay and Cook County Commissioner Sean Morrison , among others.
Casten holds a B.A. in molecular biology and biochemistry from Middlebury College and a masters of engineering management and an M.S. in Biochemical Engineering from the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth.
In the remapping of Illinois's congressional districts, Casten watched his district, which encompassed much of DuPage County, get parsed down to 21 percent of the old 6th District that helped him unseat six-term Republican Roskam in 2018. Casten has proven that he can get votes in unfamiliar territory, beating the one-term progressive Democrat Marie Newman , in the March 2022 primary.
Casten says in his travels around IL-06, looming in district voters' minds is the survival of democracy in the United States.
"We may not immediately restore the rights that this Supreme Court has taken away through the Courts, nor will men of low character in high office suddenly become moral beacons to future generations. But we will survive because of our nation's collective decency, and our collective willingness to organize ourselves into collective action and fix problems," Casten said in his Patch candidate survey.
