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Ed Hershey
Ed Hershey (Working Class Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Illinois' 4th Congressional District. He lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Hershey completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Ed Hershey was born in Rochester, New York. Hershey's career experience includes working as a teacher. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Chicago in 2001.[1]
Elections
2024
See also: Illinois' 4th Congressional District election, 2024
Illinois' 4th Congressional District election, 2024 (March 19 Democratic primary)
General election
General election for U.S. House Illinois District 4
Incumbent Jesus Garcia defeated Lupe Castillo, Ed Hershey, and Alicia Martinez in the general election for U.S. House Illinois District 4 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Jesus Garcia (D) | 67.5 | 139,343 |
 | Lupe Castillo (R)  | 27.3 | 56,323 | |
 | Ed Hershey (Working Class Party) | 5.2 | 10,704 | |
| Alicia Martinez (Independent) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 26 | ||
| Total votes: 206,396 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 4
Incumbent Jesus Garcia defeated Raymond Lopez in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 4 on March 19, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jesus Garcia | 69.6 | 30,443 |
 | Raymond Lopez | 30.4 | 13,286 | |
| Total votes: 43,729 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Hershey in this election.
2022
See also: Illinois' 4th Congressional District election, 2022
General election
General election for U.S. House Illinois District 4
Incumbent Jesus Garcia defeated James Falakos, Ed Hershey, and Alicia Martinez in the general election for U.S. House Illinois District 4 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jesus Garcia (D) | 68.4 | 91,036 |
 | James Falakos (R) | 28.1 | 37,352 | |
| Ed Hershey (Working Class Party) | 3.5 | 4,605 | |
| Alicia Martinez (Independent) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 54 | ||
| Total votes: 133,047 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 4
Incumbent Jesus Garcia advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 4 on June 28, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jesus Garcia | 100.0 | 37,499 |
| Total votes: 37,499 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Illinois District 4
James Falakos advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Illinois District 4 on June 28, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | James Falakos | 100.0 | 12,192 |
| Total votes: 12,192 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2015
The city of Chicago, Illinois, held elections for city council on February 24, 2015. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was November 24, 2014.[2] In the general election for Ward 25, incumbent Daniel Solis defeated Ed Hershey, Jorge Mujica, Roberto "Beto" Montano and Byron Sigcho. Troy Hernandez withdrew from the race in December 2014.[3][4]
| Chicago City Council, Ward 25, 2015 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
 Daniel Solis Incumbent |
51.1% | 3,811 | |
| Byron Sigcho | 18.5% | 1,383 | |
| Jorge Mujica | 12.2% | 907 | |
| Roberto "Beto" Montano | 10% | 748 | |
| Ed Hershey | 8.2% | 614 | |
| Total Votes | 7,463 | ||
| Source: Chicago Board of Election Commissioners, "Official general election results," accessed July 9, 2015 | |||
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Ed Hershey completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Hershey's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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- To keep pace with what we've lost to inflation, everyone's wages must be increased – NOW. Minimum wage should be set high enough to support a family comfortably. There's wealth enough in this society to pay everyone a decent wage, including young people just starting out.
- The politicians and the media tell us that the new immigrants from Venezuela and other countries are taking our jobs, that they are bringing our wages down. It's not true -- the bosses are the ones who pay us. It only serves the ruling class to divide the working class -- to pit workers who have been here a little longer against those who arrived more recently. We cannot fall into this trap -- we only have power as a class when we stand united.
- We steadily see this country, and the whole world being dragged to war. There is Israel's war against the people of Gaza -- waged with American bombs, paid for by our taxes. There is the war in Ukraine, where Ukrainians soldiers confront Russian invaders. Again, this war against Russia is waged with American bombs, paid by our taxes. And there is a rising drumbeat towards a war with China. When this war expands, it will draw in young working people here, including my own students. The Working Class has no interest in any of these wars -- we stand firmly against all of them.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Interview with the Chicago Sun-Times
Hershey highlighted the following themes in an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times on October 21, 2024. The questions from the Chicago Sun-Times are bolded and Hershey's responses follow below.[5]
| “ |
Israel-Hamas conflict The ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict remains one of America’s most pressing and difficult foreign policy challenges. What measures by Congress would you propose or support with respect to the conflict? Stop arming Israel with the bombs that are used to carry out a massacre in Gaza. U.S. support for Ukraine There are growing questions about the extent to which the U.S. should continue financially and militarily supporting Ukraine in its bid to defeat Russian President Vladimir Putin and his forces. Explain your viewpoint on the scale and duration of support that the U.S. should continue to provide to Kyiv, and the rationale for your position. The war in Ukraine allows the U.S. to “weaken” Russia, in the words of our own military leaders — and to fight that war with Ukrainian soldiers. There is an ever-present risk of this war expanding into something much bigger and even more menacing. The working class in this country has no interest in supporting U.S. wars abroad, which are fought in the interests of the major companies, including its arms manufacturers. Threats to democracy What do you believe is the biggest threat to democracy that America faces right now? The country is mired in a very deep political crisis. This flows, in part, from the fact that the working class in this country has faced steadily increasing exploitation over the last 50 years. Productivity — that is, how much working people produce — has increased substantially. But the fruits, the windfall of those increases, have gone to those that own the companies and to shareholders, while working people have seen our wages, and our living conditions erode steadily. That, ultimately, is what has led to this crisis. Migrant crisis Chicago and other major cities such as New York and Denver continue to struggle with the financial burden of housing the thousands of asylum seekers being bused and flown in, largely from Texas. From the vantage point of Congress, what measures would you propose and/or support to help alleviate both the burden on these major American cities and the plight of the incoming migrants? Federal funds must be mobilized to house immigrants to this country decently. All immigrants in this country, both new asylum-seekers and long-time residents, must enjoy full rights, and immediately. The corporations use the “2nd class status” of immigrants as a wedge to divide the working class, making some workers accept inferior wages and benefits. Fixing the immigration system Both sides of America’s political spectrum believe that the country’s immigration system is broken. What do you believe should be done to fix it? Everyone living and working in this country needs to enjoy full rights, and immediately — including voting rights. Capitalists are able to invest across borders at will, yet somehow, those same borders are used as bars to hold back people. Federal budget deficit In late 2023, the federal budget deficit stood at about $1.7 trillion. Describe what you believe are the three best ways to make a significant drawdown in the federal budget deficit. Please be specific in your answer. Tax the wealthy and tax their corporations. U.S. economy Many Americans believe that the economy is not on the right track. Please describe three steps you believe the U.S. should undertake to keep inflation in check and improve its economic outlook, both short-term and long-term. To fight against inflation: Wages, pensions and disability payments should automatically and immediately be increased whenever prices increase. The capitalists won’t do that. The working class will have to impose those increases on them, make the big companies use the money they give to wealthy stockholders today — use it to guarantee everyone’s wages. To fight so everyone has a job: Divide the available work among everyone who wants to work. Let everyone work fewer hours but let everyone keep a full week of pay. Decent pay. Slow down the pace of work — this would also provide jobs for people who need them. The capitalists won’t want this either. But they could pay for it. They have hoarded vast amounts of wealth they stole from our labor. We need to take it back. Solving local problems What is the most pressing problem in your district, and what is your approach to solving that problem? There are many new immigrants on the Southwest Side. They need access to jobs and services. Final pitch Sum up why you believe you are the better candidate for this office. The working class needs its own party. We are trying to build what can become a real tool for the working class to organize itself around its own needs.[6] |
” |
2022
Ed Hershey completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Hershey's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
| Collapse all
- To catch up with what we've lost to inflation, everyone's wages must be increased – NOW. Minimum wage should be set high enough to support a family comfortably. There's wealth enough in this society to pay everyone a decent wage, including young people just starting out.
- To get rid of all the unemployment, obvious and hidden: Share out the work among everyone who wants work. We could all work fewer hours, and everyone could be paid a full, weekly check. The wealth our labor creates will more than pay for this.
- To determine what kind of life we will have: We have to find the wealth the bosses steal from our labor. We have to put our hands on the public money that is wasted. We can do that. We are in every company, every public service, every school -- in the very center of the economy. Not only do worker make the economy run. As a class, we can decide how it should be run. And the working class has the power to make things run for the good of everyone.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on July 19, 2024
- ↑ Chicago Board of Election Commissioners, "2015 Election Calendar," accessed August 21, 2014
- ↑ Chicago Board of Election Commissioners, "General Election Candidate List," accessed December 3, 2014
- ↑ Chicago Tribune, "Unofficial election results," accessed February 24, 2015
- ↑ Chicago Sun-Times, “Ed Hershey, Illinois 4th Congressional District,” October 21, 2024
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
