5 Republicans Vie To Challenge Underwood In 14th District: IL Primary

PLAINFIELD, IL — Five Republicans are looking to challenge incumbent Lauren Underwood (D-Naperville) for the U.S. House Illinois District 14 seat in the primary election Tuesday.

Running unopposed in the Democratic primary, Underwood would represent Illinois's 14th District for a third term if she wins on Nov. 8. First elected in 2018, she defeated Republican Jim Oberweis despite his request for a recount in 2020.

The Republican candidates running to challenge Underwood in the primary are:

• Scott Gryder
• Mike Koolidge
• Jack Lombardi II
• James Marter
• Jaime Milton

Gryder has been elected three times to the Kendall County Board to represent District 2 and currently serves as chairman of the Board. His platform emphasizes pro-growth, pro-family and pro-freedom, and if elected, he said he will fight for what's important to the 14th District.

Once the host of a syndicated conservative radio program, "The Michael Koolidge Show," Koolidge retired from his radio show to run for Congress. A veteran who served in the Army, the candidate's platform promotes fighting inflation, funding the police, securing the border, cutting federal spending and letting parents have a major say in their children's education.

Lombardi's "America First" platform has similarities to Koolidge's in that if elected, he plans to fight inflation, school choice for parents and strong borders. The entrepreneur said he will also support small businesses, religious freedom, the Second Amendment and American energy independence, among other things.

Marter, who holds a pro-life, pro-family stance, is running to "preserve and protect the American Dream." If elected to Congress, he said he will fight to cut spending, improve security, grow opportunities for Americans, protect freedom and unite the country.

The only woman running in the primary, Milton is running for office to "defend our rights to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness." Keys issues her campaign is focused on include protecting the Constitution, securing the border, reforming immigration policies and working to revitalize the becoming by supporting America First policies.

In her time in Congress, Underwood held 91 community events, made 97 visits to local businesses and organizations and held 35 town hall meetings between the seven counties represented in the 14th District. Since the pandemic began, she delivered more than $284 million in pandemic relief to K-12 public schools in the 14th District and helped pass legislation to protect kids from e-cigarettes and to increase federal funding to strengthen child abuse prevention, according to her website.

Prior to becoming a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Underwood worked as a nurse while also serving as a special assistant/senior advisor and policy coordinator for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Illinois is currently divided into 18 congressional districts — each represented by a member of the United States House of Representatives. November's mid-term election will be the last until the state loses a congressional seat in the 2022 midterms as a result of the 2020 census, according to CNN.

The 14th District covers a portion of northern Illinois spanning from the Wisconsin border to the north and Kendall County to the south. The district includes all or parts of Aurora, Batavia, Geneva, North Aurora and Campton Hills in Kane County; Oswego, Yorkville and Plano in Kendall County; Plainfield in Will County; McHenry, Crystal Lake, Huntley and Woodstock in McHenry County; Naperville and Warrenville in DuPage County; Sycamore in DeKalb County; and Wauconda in Lake County.

Since the district's creation in 1873, the 14 District representatives generally steered Republican — historically, only five of the 22 members have been Democratic. Underwood became the first woman to hold the seat when she was first elected nearly four years ago.