Rice Takes On Krishnamoorthi In 8th Congressional Race: 2024 Election

ILLINOIS — U.S. Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL 8th), who was first elected in 2016, will try and win a fifth term in Tuesday night's general election. His opponent, Republican Mark Rice, is seeking the two-year seat for the first time. In April's primaries, both candidates ran unopposed.

The Illinois' 8th Congressional District covers parts of Cook County, DuPage County and Kane County. All or parts of Addison, Barrington Hills, Bloomingdale, Carol Stream, Carpentersville, East Dundee, Elgin, Elk Grove Village, Glendale Heights, Hanover Park, Hoffman Estates, Lombard, Palatine, Roselle, Schaumburg, South Elgin, Streamwood, Villa Park and Wood Dale are included.

The last Republican to win the seat was Joe Walsh, who was elected in 2010, but only served one term.

After winning the prior three elections by gaining more than 70 percent of the vote, Krishnamoorthi had a closer race against Republican challenger Chris Dargis, 57-43 percent, in 2022.

Patch sent out candidate questionnaires to both Krishnamoorthi and Rice, but neither filled one out.

Krishnamoorthi, 51, currently serves as the ranking member of the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

Residing in Schaumburg, Krishnamoorthi was born in New Delhi, India, and raised in Peoria. He is the first ever Indian-American or person of South Asian descent to serve as Ranking Member or Chair of any full committee in the U.S. Congress. He also serves as an assistant whip.

According to his house.gov biography, before heading into politics as a candidate, Krishnamoorthi pursued public service while practicing law in Chicago and was appointed by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan as a Special Assistant Attorney General to help start the state's Public Integrity Unit created to root out corruption in Illinois.

Rice was born and raised in Texas and has lived in Illinois for the last 35 years. According to his website, his career experience includes being a CEO and corporate board member. Rice has been affiliated with the Jewish Community Center in Chicago and was a founder of the Trevian Youth Football and Basketball organizations.

With regard to immigration, Krishnamoorthi was co-sponsor of the DREAM Act, which provides a path to citizenship for the children of undocumented immigrants who have known no other home.

"We should welcome these young people, enabling them to pursue a higher education and contribute to our nation’s future," Krishnamoorthi said.

He also calls rejects the barring of whole classes of people from entering the country because of their ethnicity or religion.

"Citizens are having to fight to keep themselves and their families safe. We have elected officials who are not enforcing laws, not securing the border, not fixing the problems, largely caused by them in the first place," Rice said.

He believes new leadership will thwart the growth of tent cities, which he believes bring crime, disease, drugs, human trafficking and human suffering, "under an unending flow of illegal immigration."

Krishnamoorthi started the Women for Raja committee to "amplify" his message on women's issues, including equal pay and reproductive rights.

"From the very beginning, our campaign has fought for a woman's right to earn equal pay for equal work and to make healthcare decisions free from political interference," Krishnamoorthi said.

Rice says the country's current foreign policies are "making the world a more dangerous place" for America and its allies.

"Our weakness in Afghanistan contributed to causing the Russia-Ukraine conflict. It also emboldened Iran and its proxy Hamas to attack Israel," Rice said.

Krishnamoorthi was the sole Indian-American Congressman to address August's Democratic National Convention in Chicago. In the speech, as reported by The Times of India, Krishnamoorthi said he believes China is rooting for Donald Trump to be reelected president because it will "weaken the United States by causing internal divisions."

"Mark my words, they want to see Donald Trump across the bargaining table because he'll start endless trade wars," Krishnamoorthi said.

He added that cutting worker training programs will also play into China's hands.

Rice, who said supporting Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East, is also a priority.

"Continued weakness puts Taiwan under increased threat from China," Rice said on his website. "The list goes on, and all these aggressors are eyeing America as well. America is at its best when America is strong. Strength means a strong military that understands its purpose."