Incumbent Democratic Rep. Delia Ramirez will triumph in her reelection bid over Republican challenger John Booras, NBC News projects.
Ramirez, first elected to Congress in 2022 after former Rep. Marie Newman’s district was redrawn, easily rolled to a second term in office in the heavily Democratic district, which covers parts of Cook and DuPage counties, along with the southwest side of Chicago.
Ramirez was first elected to the Illinois House in 2018 from the 4th district, capturing reelection in 2020 before opting to run for Congress in the 2022 election cycle.
She defeated Chicago Ald. Gilbert Villegas in the Democratic primary, then captured 68.5% of the vote in a general election win over Justin Burau.
She currently serves on the Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs committees, and is a member of the Progressive Caucus and the Equality Caucus, according to her Congressional biography.
As part of her work on the Veterans’ Affairs committee, Ramirez passed the Student Veteran Benefits Restoration Act, a bill that allowed veterans to retain full access to education benefits if they were defrauded by a for-profit school, and bills that improved health care programs and increased per diem payments for homeless veterans, according to her campaign website.
Booras, a former police officer and currently working as an attorney, campaigned heavily on immigration reform and increasing funding for both Border Patrol and programs to increase the number of immigration attorneys to help clear backlogs of asylum seekers. He also pushed for school voucher programs and additional grant programs for businesses.
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