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Illinois' 5th Congressional District election (March 20, 2018 Democratic primary)

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2016
Illinois' 5th Congressional District
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Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: December 4, 2017
Primary: March 20, 2018
General: November 6, 2018

Pre-election incumbent:
Mike Quigley (Democrat)
How to vote
Poll times: 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Voting in Illinois
Race ratings
Cook Partisan Voter Index (2018): D+20
Cook Political Report: Solid Democratic
Inside Elections: Solid Democratic
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Democratic
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds
U.S. House battlegrounds
Federal and state primary competitiveness
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2018
See also
Illinois' 5th Congressional District
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Illinois elections, 2018
U.S. Congress elections, 2018
U.S. Senate elections, 2018
U.S. House elections, 2018


Rep. Mike Quigley won the primary election for Illinois' 5th Congressional District on March 20, 2018, defeating his first primary challengers since he won the seat in a special election in 2009. Three candidates whom Politico identified as progressives eyed his seat: Sameena Mustafa, Steve Schwartzberg, and Benjamin Thomas Wolf.[1]

Illinois voter? Dates you need to know.
Primary electionMarch 20, 2018
Candidate filing deadlineDecember 4, 2017
Registration deadlineFebruary 20 (in-person) & March 4 (online), 2018
Absentee application deadlineMarch 15 (by mail) & March 19 (in-person), 2018
General electionNovember 6, 2018
Voting information
Primary typeOpen
Early voting deadlineMarch 20, 2018
Polling locations: Polls were open from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Go to this page to find early voting locations and your assigned precinct for election day.


For more on related elections, please see:


Candidates and election results

Incumbent Mike Quigley defeated Sameena Mustafa, Benjamin Thomas Wolf, and Steve Schwartzberg in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 5 on March 20, 2018.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 5

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Mike Quigley
Mike Quigley
 
62.5
 
66,254
Image of Sameena Mustafa
Sameena Mustafa
 
24.1
 
25,591
Image of Benjamin Thomas Wolf
Benjamin Thomas Wolf
 
9.5
 
10,032
Image of Steve Schwartzberg
Steve Schwartzberg
 
4.0
 
4,196

Total votes: 106,073
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Candidates

See also: Statistics on U.S. Congress candidates, 2018

Sameena Mustafa

Sameena Mustafa.jpg

Mustafa has worked in business, nonprofit, and the arts, according to a Chicago Sun-Times interview. Prior to the 2018 election she had spent 13 years in real estate as a tenant advocate. She also managed a Planned Parenthood clinic. Mustafa graduated from Northwestern University.[2]

Mustafa described herself on her campaign website as a "social and fiscal progressive". Among her campaign priorities were Medicare for all and abortion access.[3] Mustafa was backed by Americans for Democratic Action and Northside Democracy for America. She raised $79,548 as of February 14, 2018.

Steve Schwartzberg

Steve Schwartzberg.jpeg

Schwartzberg is a former director of undergraduate studies for international studies at Yale University. He also taught at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. He earned his Ph.D. in history from Yale University, his master's degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and his bachelor's degree from Reed College.[4]

Schwartzberg listed his top five priorities on his campaign website as, "Universal Health Care, Massive Infrastructure Investment, A Foreign Policy for Civility, Respect for Tribal Sovereignty, [and] A Freedom Budget for the 21st Century." He was backed by the Illinois Berniecrats and Social Democrats, USA.[5][6]




Mike Quigley

Mike Quigley.jpg

Quigley was first elected to Congress in 2009. Prior to his election, he served on the Cook County Board of Commissioners.

Quigley reported $667,148 in contributions as of February 14, 2018. He was backed by Sens. Tammy Duckworth (D) and Dick Durbin (D) and Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D), as well as the Illinois AFL-CIO and Illinois Planned Parenthood. According to his campaign website, Quigley's focus has been on "full LGBT equality, a woman’s right to choose and commonsense gun law reforms that will make our communities safer."[7]

Benjamin Thomas Wolf

Benjamin Wolf.jpg

Wolf graduated from Kent State University in 1998 with a bachelor's degree in political science. He also holds a master's in national security studies from The American Military University and a Ph.D. from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. In the months leading up to the 2018 election, Wolf was a professor in Chicago. He has also worked with the U.S. Department of State. Wolf graduated from the FBI Academy and worked within the National Security Division.[8]

Wolf gained media attention in February 2018 for releasing a campaign ad with a photo of him smoking cannabis, the legalization of which was listed as one of his campaign platforms on his website. Other campaign themes included universal healthcare and free higher education.[9] Wolf reported $62,290 in contributions as of February 14, 2018.



Campaign finance

The table below details the campaign finance reports of candidates in this race who had raised at least $10,000 as of February 14, 2018.


Endorsements

Ballotpedia tracks endorsements of candidates by organizations and elected and appointed officials. To notify us of other endorsements, please email us.

Democratic primary endorsements
Endorsement Mustafa[10] Quigley[11] Schwartzberg[12]
Federal officials
Tammy Duckworth, U.S. senator
Dick Durbin, U.S. senator
Jan Schakowsky, U.S. representative
State figures
Susana Mendoza, Illinois state comptroller
Heather Steans, Illinois state senator
Local figures
Bridget Gainer, Cook County commissioner
John Arena, Chicago city alderman
Ameya Pawar, Chicago city alderman
Michele Smith, Chicago city alderwoman
Organizations
Americans for Democratic Action
Illinois AFL-CIO
Illinois Association of Firefighters
Illinois Berniecrats
Illinois Citizen Action
Illinois Planned Parenthood
Illinois Sierra Club
Illinois State Council SEIU
Independent Voters of Illinois - Independent Precinct Organization
Justice Democrats
Northside Democracy for America
Social Democrats, USA
Media outlets
Chicago Sun-Times[13]


Noteworthy events

Wolf accused of domestic abuse, inflating resume

Domestic abuse

Benjamin Thomas Wolf gained national media attention first for calling himself the "Cannabis candidate"[14] and smoking cannabis in front of the American flag for a campaign ad. But the attention shifted when Politico reported that he had been accused of domestic abuse by a former girlfriend and of inflating his resume.[15]

Wolf's former girlfriend Katarina Coates told Politico,

He actually hit me, threw me to the ground, put his foot on my chest. He was really angry. He grabbed my face...I thought it was normal. I cannot explain the logic. It seemed like he cared about me when he did that. After that time he stood on my chest, he went and took me for chocolate cake. I kind of associated it with his caring. ... There were times I would ask him, Do you ever regret hitting me?’ He would say: 'No, but I'm relieved when you put your head down so I don't have to do it again.'[15][16]


Wolf denied the accusation, responding that Coates had harassed him, leading him to file police reports to protect his family. He called the accusations politically motivated and said they resulted from the national attention he had been getting for his campaigning.

I walk around this city with a black leather jacket and leather boots and this city is scared of me...We are talking about sex and drugs, we have no corporate donors.[15][16]

Politico also reported that Wolf was blocked from Women's March Chicago's Facebook group after multiple women complained to the group's organizers. "Once he started posting, a lot of people started contacting me as the admin of the page," said Emily Kraiem, a member of the group's board of directors. "He has a bad history with women, his background doesn't add up...Based on all the different things that we were hearing and the way he jumped into the fray and was conducting himself, we removed him out of our Facebook group."[15]

Resume inflation

Several Twitter accounts, including one called Wolf Detective, have focused on fact-checking Wolf's background. Wolf has described himself as an Iraq veteran and on Veteran's Day, responded to a tweet from his opponent Rep. Mike Quigley saying, "Wolf served multiple terms in Africa and Iraq. Wolf for Congress."[17][18] But according to Politico, Wolf never served in the military.

Wolf responded by saying, "People in the military get upset when I say I served in Iraq. The military doesn't have a patent on the word 'served'...I've been an amazing person in American history."[15]

Campaign advertisements

Democratic Party Sameena Mustafa

Support
"Support a bold leader! Sameena Mustafa for Congress IL-05" - Sameena Mustafa campaign ad, released September 25, 2017

Democratic Party Benjamin Thomas Wolf

Support
"FBI standards" - Benjamin Thomas Wolf campaign ad, released August 1, 2017
"Wolf for Congress" - Benjamin Thomas Wolf campaign ad, released September 3, 2017
"Wolf for Congress 30 Second Commercial" - Benjamin Thomas Wolf campaign ad, released February 5, 2018

Race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods
Race ratings: Illinois' 5th Congressional District election, 2018
Race tracker Race ratings
October 30, 2018 October 23, 2018October 16, 2018October 9, 2018
The Cook Political Report Solid Democratic Solid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid Democratic
Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales Solid Democratic Solid DemocraticSolid DemocraticSolid Democratic
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball Safe Democratic Safe DemocraticSafe DemocraticSafe Democratic
Note: Ballotpedia updates external race ratings every two weeks throughout the election season.

District analysis

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index
See also: FiveThirtyEight's elasticity scores

The 2017 Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was D+20, meaning that in the previous two presidential elections, this district's results were 20 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made Illinois' 5th Congressional District the 66th most Democratic nationally.[19]

FiveThirtyEight's September 2018 elasticity score for states and congressional districts measured "how sensitive it is to changes in the national political environment." This district's elasticity score was 1.05. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 1.05 points toward that party.[20]

State overview

Partisan control

This section details the partisan control of federal and state positions in Illinois heading into the 2018 elections.

Congressional delegation

State executives

State legislature

  • Democrats controlled both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly. They had a 67-51 majority in the state House and a 37-22 majority in the state Senate.

Trifecta status

  • Illinois was under divided government, meaning that the two parties shared control of the state government. Bruce Rauner (R) served as governor, while Democrats controlled the state legislature.

2018 elections

See also: Illinois elections, 2018

Illinois held elections for the following positions in 2018:

Demographics

Demographic data for Illinois
 IllinoisU.S.
Total population:12,839,047316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):55,5193,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:72.3%73.6%
Black/African American:14.3%12.6%
Asian:5%5.1%
Native American:0.2%0.8%
Pacific Islander:0%0.2%
Two or more:2.2%3%
Hispanic/Latino:16.5%17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:87.9%86.7%
College graduation rate:32.3%29.8%
Income
Median household income:$57,574$53,889
Persons below poverty level:16.8%11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015)
Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Illinois.
**Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

As of July 2016, Illinois' three largest cities were Chicago (pop. est. 2.7 million), Aurora (pop. est. 200,000), and Joliet (pop. est. 150,000).[21][22]

State election history

This section provides an overview of federal and state elections in Illinois from 2000 to 2016. All data comes from the Illinois State Board of Elections.

Historical elections

Presidential elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of the presidential election in Illinois every year from 2000 to 2016.

Election results (President of the United States), Illinois 2000-2016
Year First-place candidate First-place candidate votes (%) Second-place candidate Second-place candidate votes (%) Margin of victory (%)
2016 Democratic Party Hillary Clinton 55.8% Republican Party Donald Trump 38.8% 17.0%
2012 Democratic Party Barack Obama 57.6% Republican Party Mitt Romney 40.7% 16.9%
2008 Democratic Party Barack Obama 61.9% Republican Party John McCain 36.8% 25.1%
2004 Democratic Party John Kerry 54.8% Republican Party George W. Bush 44.5% 10.3%
2000 Democratic Party Al Gore 54.6% Republican Party George W. Bush 42.6% 12.0%

U.S. Senate elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of U.S. Senate races in Illinois from 2000 to 2016. Every state has two Senate seats, and each seat goes up for election every six years. The terms of the seats are staggered so that roughly one-third of the seats are up every two years.

Election results (U.S. Senator), Illinois 2000-2016
Year First-place candidate First-place candidate votes (%) Second-place candidate Second-place candidate votes (%) Margin of victory (%)
2016 Democratic Party Tammy Duckworth 54.9% Republican Party Mark Kirk 39.8% 15.1%
2014 Democratic Party Dick Durbin 53.5% Republican Party Jim Oberweis 42.7% 10.8%
2010 Republican Party Mark Kirk 48.0% Democratic Party Alexander Giannoulias 46.4% 1.6%
2008 Democratic Party Dick Durbin 67.8% Republican Party Steve Sauerberg 28.5% 39.3%
2004 Democratic Party Barack Obama 70.0% Republican Party Alan Keyes 27.0% 43.0%
2002 Democratic Party Dick Durbin 60.3% Republican Party Jim Durkin 38.0% 22.3%

Gubernatorial elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of the four gubernatorial elections held between 2000 and 2016. Gubernatorial elections are held every four years in Illinois.

Election results (Governor), Illinois 2000-2016
Year First-place candidate First-place candidate votes (%) Second-place candidate Second-place candidate votes (%) Margin of victory (%)
2014 Republican Party Bruce Rauner 50.3% Democratic Party Pat Quinn 46.3% 4.0%
2010 Democratic Party Pat Quinn 46.8% Republican Party Bill Brady 45.9% 0.9%
2006 Democratic Party Rod Blagojevich 49.8% Republican Party Judy Baar Topinka 39.3% 10.5%
2002 Democratic Party Rod Blagojevich 52.2% Republican Party Jim Ryan 45.1% 7.1%

Congressional delegation, 2000-2016

This chart shows the number of Democrats and Republicans who were elected to represent Illinois in the U.S. House from 2000 to 2016. Elections for U.S. House seats are held every two years.

Congressional delegation, Illinois 2000-2016
Year Republicans Republicans (%) Democrats Democrats (%) Balance of power
2016 Republican Party 7 38.9% Democratic Party 11 61.1% D+4
2014 Republican Party 8 44.4% Democratic Party 10 55.6% D+2
2012 Republican Party 6 33.3% Democratic Party 12 66.7% D+6
2010 Republican Party 11 57.9% Democratic Party 8 42.1% R+3
2008 Republican Party 7 36.8% Democratic Party 12 63.2% D+5
2006 Republican Party 9 47.4% Democratic Party 10 52.6% D+1
2004 Republican Party 9 47.4% Democratic Party 10 52.6% D+1
2002 Republican Party 10 52.6% Democratic Party 9 47.4% R+1
2000 Republican Party 10 50.0% Democratic Party 10 50.0% Even

Trifectas, 1992-2017

A state government trifecta occurs when one party controls both chambers of the state legislature and the governor's office.

Illinois Party Control: 1992-2025
Nineteen years of Democratic trifectas  •  Two years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Governor R R R R R R R R R R R D D D D D D D D D D D D R R R R D D D D D D D
Senate D R R R R R R R R R R D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D
House D D D R R D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D


See also

Footnotes

  1. Politico, "Progressives storm Democratic primaries," February 11, 2018
  2. Chicago Sun-Times, "Sameena Mustafa," February 8, 2018
  3. Sameena Mustafa, "2018 campaign website," accessed March 5, 2018
  4. Steve Schwartzberg 2018 campaign website, "About," accessed March 5, 2018
  5. Steve Schwartzberg 2018 campaign website, "Issues," accessed March 5, 2018
  6. Steve Schwartzberg 2018 campaign website, "Endorsement," accessed March 5, 2018
  7. Mike Quigley 2018 campaign website, "About," accessed March 5, 2018
  8. Benjamin Thomas Wolf 2018 campaign website, "Bio," accessed March 5, 2018
  9. Benjamin Thomas Wolf 2018 campaign website, "Platform," accessed March 5, 2018
  10. Sameena Mustafa, "Endorsements," accessed February 14, 2018
  11. Mike Quigley for Congress, "Endorsements," accessed February 14, 2018
  12. Steve Schwartzberg for Congress, "Endorsements," accessed February 14, 2018
  13. Chicago Sun-Times, "ENDORSEMENT: Mike Quigley for Congress in 5th District Democratic primary," February 13, 2018
  14. Benjamin Thomas Wolf 2018 campaign website, "Home," accessed March 8, 2018
  15. 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 Politico, "‘Cannabis candidate’ accused of abusing women and inflating his resume," March 7, 2018
  16. 16.0 16.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  17. Wix, "Benjamin Thomas Wolf Announces Candidacy for the 5th Congressional District in Illinois," accessed March 8, 2018
  18. Twitter, "Wolf Detective on Twitter," accessed March 8, 2018
  19. Cook Political Report, "Introducing the 2017 Cook Political Report Partisan Voter Index," April 7, 2017
  20. FiveThirtyEight, "Election Update: The Most (And Least) Elastic States And Districts," September 6, 2018
  21. Illinois Demographics, "Illinois Cities by Population," accessed December 11, 2017
  22. U.S. Census Bureau, "Quickfacts Illinois," accessed December 11, 2017


Senators
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7
District 8
District 9
District 10
District 11
District 12
Mike Bost (R)
District 13
District 14
District 15
District 16
District 17
Democratic Party (16)
Republican Party (3)