CHICAGO (AP) – Illinois’ newly redrawn 17th district will be one of the U.S. House election races to watch Tuesday as rookie candidates battle to fill the vacancy left by retiring Democratic Rep. Cheri Bustos.
The winner could signal whether Democrats can hang on to their slim House majority. GOP candidate Esther Joy King, a lawyer who serves in the Army Reserve, is running against Democrat Eric Sorensen, a Rockford native who worked as a meteorologist for nearly 20 years.
Elsewhere in the state, Democrat Nikki Budzinski from Peoria and Republican Regan Deering of Decatur will compete for Illinois’ 13th district in central Illinois. Democratic incumbent Rep. Sean Casten will face Republican Keith Pekau for Illinois’ 6th district, just west of Chicago.
