Now that the holiday season is over, congressional candidates in Illinois are trying to turn voters’ attention to the March 17 primary election — and one candidate is debuting online ads to kick her campaign into high gear.
Former U.S. Rep. Melissa Bean plans to launch an advertising blitz emphasizing her past vote for Obamacare, just as the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress have cut tax subsidies for the federal low-income health care plan. Bean said the message is timely because many voters are facing significantly higher insurance premiums.
“I lost an election because I helped millions of Americans get health care through Obamacare,” she says in the campaign ad. “And I would do it again. But now as Trump and Republicans rip away health care, drive up costs and attack Social Security and Medicare without any solutions, I can’t be silent.”
She also calls on Democrats in the campaign commercial to “stop whining and start winning again with common sense problem-solving.”
The commercial will run for 10 weeks on streaming platforms, including YouTube, Amazon Prime, Apple TV+, Disney+, and Hulu. It is not scheduled to air on broadcast television stations.
Bean is competing with seven other candidates in the Democratic primary: Junaid Ahmed, Yasmeen Bankole, Sanjyot Dunung, Neil Khot, Kevin Morrison, Dan Tully and Ryan Vetticad.
Kevin Ake, Jennifer Davis, Herbert Hebein and Mark Rice are running in the Republican primary. The winners will face off in the Nov. 3 general election.
The incumbent, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, is leaving the office at the end of his term as he runs to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin.
Ahmed, a self-described progressive who received 30% of the vote against incumbent Krishnamoorthi two years ago, had the most cash on hand as of the Sept. 30, the most recent report by federal election officials, with $659,000. He said he doesn’t accept money from corporate political action committees.
“National progressive groups and local leaders have endorsed him because they know Junaid is a fighter who will stand up to Donald Trump, work to pass Medicare for all, and ensure the wealthy pay their fair share,” his spokeswoman said in a statement.
Bean held the 8th District office from 2005 to 2011. The man who defeated her, Joe Walsh, has endorsed Morrison, who has political experience as a member of the Cook County Board.
The 8th District, which covers northwest suburbs including Schaumburg, was strongly Republican until Bean defeated longtime Rep. Phil Crane in 2004, and is now considered solidly Democratic.