Dueling commercials by two well-funded Democratic candidates in Illinois’ 8th Congressional District race are taking aim at former U.S. Rep. Melissa Bean, with both ads calling her “Wall Street’s favorite Democrat.”
In an election season when Democrats nationally are campaigning to make life more affordable for average citizens and to take on monied interests, the commercials by Junaid Ahmed and Neil Khot aim to portray Bean, a former member of Congress, as a Democratic candidate disconnected from the current political will.
The two men — both children of immigrants — also call for opposing President Donald Trump’s administration, though they differ on some other issues as they run in a crowded field for the Democratic nomination in the heavily blue district. The primary is March 17.
Ahmed, a technology consultant from South Barrington, recently rolled out two new digital and streaming ads. In them, he calls for passing Medicare for All and stopping Republican Trump.
“Both parties have let us down,” he said. “I will stand up to Trump, fight to make life more affordable, and demand billionaires pay their fair share. And I won’t take a dime of corporate PAC money.
“My opponent? She’s called Wall Street’s favorite Democrat. Well, call me Junaid — the people’s favorite.”
Khot, an immigrant and small business owner, also used his ad to cite the Wall Street Democrat line, which appeared in a Huffington Post headline when Bean held the office in 2009.
Khot also calls for caring for seniors, reducing the cost of living, and standing up to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which many candidates across the nation are saying should be abolished amid increased Trump-backed deportation raids, especially in the Chicago area last fall and currently in Minnesota.
“I’ve lived here for 30 years and this is my home,” Khot said. “And now I cannot leave my house without my passport. I want to fight and I want to give back to the country that gave me everything.”
The two men are among eight candidates running for the 8th District congressional seat. The district covers northwest suburbs from roughly the Des Plaines River west along I-90 beyond Gilberts, and along the Fox River from Geneva and St. Charles on the south to the McHenry County line on the north. It includes all or parts of Bloomingdale, Carpentersville, Elgin, Roselle, Palatine, Schaumburg and Streamwood.
The seat will be open because incumbent Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi is running for U.S. Senate to replace retiring Sen. Dick Durbin.
Bean is thought to have an advantage in the race because she previously represented the district in Congress, having defeated longtime incumbent Republican Phil Crane in 2004, Bean held the office from 2005 to 2011 but was ousted by Republican Joe Walsh in a tea party surge. She went on to work for JPMorgan Chase and Mesirow Wealth Advisors.
She was the first candidate to launch a major ad campaign on streaming platforms earlier this month. Both Ahmed and Khot described their ad campaigns as costing in the six figures.
Other candidates include Hanover Park Trustee Yasmeen Bankole, who previously worked for Krishnamoorthi and Durbin; small business owner and advocate Sanjyot Dunung, Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison, U.S. Army Reserve lawyer Dan Tully, and Ryan Vetticad, a former Presidential Management Fellow at the U.S. Department of Justice.
Morrison, the first openly LGBTQ+ member of the Cook County Board, said his campaign is buying ads on streaming services and social media. He called for pushing down prices by asserting the constitutional authority of Congress to set tariffs and to work to make higher education and health care affordable for all.
“Our residents are concerned about affordability,” he said. “That is a top priority of mine.”
Tully said his legal experience as a judge advocate would be critical for reining in a president acting outside the law.
“I’m the one with actual plans to hold the administration accountable and make the American Dream more affordable.”