Sean Casten, Marie Newman, and Charles Hughes are running in the Democratic primary for Illinois’ 6th Congressional District on June 28, 2022. Casten and Newman are members of the U.S. House of Representatives running for re-election in the same district due to redistricting. They have led in fundraising and media attention.
Newman represents Illinois’ 3rd Congressional District. Casten is the incumbent in the current 6th district, but the district lines are different this year due to redistricting. According to political researcher Frank Calabrese, 41% of the constituents in the new district come from Newman’s district and 23% come from Casten’s. Two election forecasters rate the general election as Likely Democratic, while one rates it as Lean Democratic, meaning the primary winner will likely have an edge in the general election.
Both Casten and Newman have cited climate change as a top issue. Casten, a member of the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis and the co-founder of an energy recycling company, said he supported market-based climate change legislation. Casten has introduced several climate-related bills while in Congress, including the End Oil and Gas Tax Subsidies Act, a measure to reduce certain subsidies for oil companies. Newman supports the Green New Deal and sponsored the America’s Clean Future Fund Act, a measure to impose a carbon fee on the use of certain fuels and use the proceeds to fund clean energy initiatives.
