Sean Casten defeats Marie Newman and will face-off with extremist Keith Pekau

Rep. Sean Casten Declares Victory in the June 28, 2022 Democratic Primary election over first term Congresswoman Marie Newman. Casten will face-off with rightwing extremist Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau in the November 8 General Election

By Ray Hanania

Incumbent U.S. Representative Sean Casten has declared victory in the Democratic Primary in the newly drawn Illinois 6th Congressional District defeating fellow Democratic incumbent Marie Newman.

Casten, who won more than 54 percent of the vote, will face-off on November 8, 2022 in the General Election against far right wing extremist Keith Pekau who wrapped himself up in the worst of rightwing politics to defeat five other more moderate Republicans including Burr Ridge Mayor Gary Grasso.

Rep. Sean Casten released the following statement:

“First and foremost, thank you. I ran for Congress in 2018 because I think that there’s an awful lot more that unites us than divides us. That felt like a naive thing to say at the time. After all, the 6th District hadn’t voted for a Democrat in 50 years.

“In the conversations I had with folks across the district, I found that we have a shared set of values, and voters wanted someone in Congress who would not only stand up and fight for those values, but live up to them. The 6th District is full of people who trust science, believe in democracy, and know that we are only as good as the world we leave to our children.

“We flipped the 6th District in 2018 because of the hard work of the thousands of volunteers who knocked on doors, made phone calls, and did everything they could to show the country what the values of the 6th District truly were. Then, in 2020, we rejected racism and bigotry and chose science, compassion, decency, acceptance, and love.

“Tonight, the people of the 6th District sent a resounding message. We have been given a mandate to continue our fight against the climate crisis, to end gun violence, to lower costs for families, and to protect every woman’s right to make her own health care decisions.

“To all who helped make tonight possible—thank you. Every door you knocked, call you made, yard sign you put out, or postcard you sent propelled us to victory. You have a lot to be proud of, and you deserve to celebrate.

“To the voters—since 2018, you have given me a tremendous amount of trust to represent your values in Congress. For this, I am forever grateful, and you can expect more town halls and accessibility from my office.

“To all who have reached out in recent weeks with their condolences, prayers, support, and love, my family and I are forever grateful.

“More than anything else, thank you to all who participated in this election. You are the reason democracy works.”

Newman graciously issued a concession to Casten calling to congratulate him on his victory.

“Unfortunately, we did not get the result we were looking for this evening.

“I recently got off the phone with Congressman Sean Casten, and I congratulated him on winning this race. While this is not the result we wanted, know that we have to unite in November to keep this seat blue and protect our Democratic majority.

“I respect my colleague Congressman Casten for his proven commitment to the people of this district and I give him my full endorsement for re-election in November.

“What I know for sure is that all of our supporters put their souls into this race, and I can’t thank them enough for that. Thank you to every single person who helped us get to where we are today.

“Win or lose, we have achieved something truly historic, and done so much good for this community.”

Pekau will go into the November election very weak, having won only 50 percent of the Republican votes cast.

Click here to listen to a podcast interview with Sean Casten.

Click here to listen to a podcast interview with Marie Newman.

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Ray Hanania

Ray Hanania is an award-winning opinion columnist, author & former Chicago City Hall reporter (1977-1992). A veteran who served during the Vietnam War and the recipient of four SPJ Peter Lisagor Awards for column writing, Hanania writes weekly opinion columns on mainstream American & Chicagoland topics for the Southwest News-Herald, Des Plaines Valley News, the Regional News, The Reporter Newspapers, and Suburban Chicagoland.

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Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.

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