Casten Declares Victory Over Ives In 6th Congressional District

Updated at 9 a.m. on Nov. 4

CHICAGO SUBURBS, IL — Rep. Sean Casten has declared himself the victor over Jeanne Ives in the 6th Congressional District. Casten announced his win in a statement early Wednesday and thanked voters in his district, which includes portions of McHenry, Lake, Cook, DuPage and Kane counties, for electing him to a second term.

Tens of thousands of votes still may be tallied in the district, but early on Wednesday, the Associated Press and New York Times also called the race for Casten.

Casten said moving forward he'll focus on advocating for the COVID relief funds, combatting climate change and job creation. And, in a race full of mud-slinging, he threw a final punch at his opponent, noting voters picked "decency, acceptance and love" by choosing him and "rejected bigotry and racism."

"The voters of the 6th District sent a resounding message," Casten said in a statement posted to his Twitter Wednesday. 'They said they believe we should all have high-quality, affordable health care. They acknowledged the climate crisis and decided we ought to do something about it."

He also promised more face time with voters.

"Over the next two years, you can expect more town halls and accessibility from my office," Casten said.

As of early Wednesday and with an estimated 67 percent of ballots tallied, Casten led with 139,117 votes, or 52.1 percent of the vote total, over Jeanne Ives, R-Wheaton, who had pulled in 123,505 votes or 46.2 percent of the vote total, according to the New York Times. Libertarian Bill Redpath had captured 1.7 percent of the vote. The 6th District includes portions of McHenry, Cook, DuPage, Kane and Lake counties.

There are still potentially tens of thousands of mail-in votes that still need to be counted. A deluge of mail-in votes cast in this election amid the coronavirus pandemic includes many ballots that will be tallied in the coming days and weeks. Officials have two weeks post-election to count provisional votes, and any mail-in ballot postmarked by Nov. 3 will be included.

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The race between the first-term Democrat and Ives, who got her start in politics on the Wheaton City Council and almost beat Bruce Rauner in the 2018 gubernatorial primary, became much closer than expected Tuesday night. But at about 4 a.m., the Associated Press called the race for Casten.

Casten, of Downers Grove, spent his freshman term in Congress focused on environmental initiatives and sat on the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis. He became the first Democrat to represent the 6th Congressional District in nearly 50 years when he unseated six-term Republican Peter Roskam in 2018.

Ives and Casten traded barbs over social media and through their campaign ads as well as in debates. In the weeks leading up to Election Day, Ives made a strong push to secure the votes of business owners frustrated over closures due to Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s order to shut down indoor dining due to the rising COVID-19 cases.

The two candidates viewpoints varied greatly on the big issues, including COVID-19 and the economy. Casten says requiring masks during this pandemic should be a no-brainer.

“We should live in a society where people look out for their fellow man and woman, we are now at a position where we have to have a conversation of should we mandate that people do things that are in the interest of public health,” Casten said during a recent debate hosted by WGN.

Meanwhile, Ives calls a mask mandate "outrageous."

“You are telling adults how to live their lives … masks are fine when you need to use them, you use them. When you don’t need to use them, you don’t use them,” she said during the WGN debate. “This is ridiculous. You are treating adults like children."

Ives also has been vocal about the need to reopen the economy and get kids back in school amid the pandemic. Casten says officials need to "follow the science" when it comes to COVID-19.

He'd like to see widespread contact tracing and testing become a reality. Providing resources for those who need to quarantine is also a priority for him.

“We have passed bills on the House floor to do that, but we have not had a cooperative executive branch to put that in order,” Casten said during the recent interview on ABC 7 Chicago.

Regarding a stimulus package currently in Congress, Ives slammed Casten during the WGN debate for bills he backed, which allowed for "massive bailouts." She said the country needs “targeted relief” and the reopening of private industries.

She added that piling on more debt is not the answer. And she pointed to neighboring states that have opened up instead of using taxpayer money to keep things up and running.

During the campaign, Casten said he was hopeful he'd win a second term so he could continue to move forward some of the work he started during his freshman term.

“I ran because I did not want to be represented by a president who politicized science, amplified divisions, and celebrated ignorance," Casten said regarding his 2018 run for the seat. "I didn’t have any prior experience in government —I spent 20 years as a scientist and then an entrepreneur building and running companies —and it was a heck of a time to get into this line of work, to put it mildly, but I’m really proud of what we did this cycle."

The 6th Congressional District includes portions of McHenry, Cook, DuPage, Kane and Lake counties and includes Palatine, Algonquin, Barrington, Barrington Hills, Bartlett, Crystal Lake, Cary, Elgin, Downers Grove, Naperville, Clarendon Hills, Hinsdale, Glen Ellyn, Fox River Grove, Oak Brook, Wheaton and St. Charles.

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