Incumbent Jesus Garcia (D) and Raymond Lopez (D) are running in the Democratic primary for Illinois’ 4th Congressional District on March 19, 2024.
Local media outlets say Garcia and Lopez represent different wings of the Democratic Party. According to Politico’s Illinois Playbook, “Lopez is a conservative Democrat who aligns with the equally conservative Chicago Police union, and Garcia is a venerable progressive.” According to the Chicago Sun-Times, “Both Garcia and Lopez have long roots in opposing factions of Southwest Side politics. Lopez is a product of the old Chicago machine while Garcia comes out of Chicago’s anti-machine independent politics movement.”
Garcia and Lopez have differed on immigration and the war in Gaza. Both say they support offering citizenship to immigrants brought into the country without legal permission as children. Garcia and Lopez differ on a bill the U.S. Senate passed in February 2024 that included restrictions on immigration without legal permission as well as aid to Ukraine and Israel. Garcia says he will not vote for the bill in the House and Lopez says he would. Garcia co-sponsored a U.S. House resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza in October 2023. Lopez voted against a city council resolution calling for a ceasefire in January 2024.
