Decisions logged by the Chicago Board of Elections will allow two contenders in the March 19 Illinois 7th district Congressional primary to remain on the ballot.
According to CBOE officials, Kina Collins and Nikhil Bhatia both acquired enough signatures to remain on the ballot in the race, with objections overruled in each of their cases.
Both candidates are seeking to unseat incumbent Rep. Danny K. Davis, who has served in Congress since 1996.
Davis has received high ratings from the AFL-CIO, Planned Parenthood and the National Education Association, among others, and has received endorsements from a slew of high-profile politicians, including Gov. J.B. Pritzker and others.
Bhatia is one of four candidates seeking to defeat Davis in the Democratic primary. Bhatia, a teacher and principal, is a proponent of early-childcare funding and universal PreK at the federal level, as well as increased funding for climate change initiatives. Bhatia’s platform also includes passage of the John Lewis Voting Act and codifying abortion rights with new federal laws.
Collins, who lost by just under 5,000 votes to Davis in the 2022 primary, will take another shot at the seat in Congress. An advocate against gun violence, Collins promises to pursue progressive legislation in Washington, including Medicare for All and gun control legislation, among others.
Chicago City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin is also in the race, citing her record of dismantling systemic racism in financial institutions, helping small businesses, and directing investments away from fossil fuel and gun industry interests and toward companies in the green energy space, among other platform stances.
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Policy advocate Kouri Marshall, who worked for Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, is also in the race, focused on increasing the availability of affordable homes, along with ensuring access to reproductive healthcare and eliminating billions of dollars in student loan debt. His platform also includes expanding the child tax credit and investing in after-school programs for young Americans.
Chad Koppie is running unopposed in the Republican primary during this election cycle. He had previously run for U.S. Senate on several occasions, and will run in the seventh district this year, focusing on eliminating the national debt, removing the federal government from the nation’s educational system, and instituting immigration reform that includes a prohibition on “sanctuary cities,” among other platform planks.
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