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Latest revision as of 16:16, 13 August 2024
Robert Emmons Jr. (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Illinois' 1st Congressional District. He lost in the Democratic primary on March 17, 2020.
Emmons completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. Click here to read the survey answers.
Elections
2020
See also: Illinois' 1st Congressional District election, 2020
Illinois' 1st Congressional District election, 2020 (March 17 Democratic primary)
Illinois' 1st Congressional District election, 2020 (March 17 Republican primary)
General election
General election for U.S. House Illinois District 1
Incumbent Bobby Rush defeated Philanise White and Ruth Pellegrini in the general election for U.S. House Illinois District 1 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Bobby Rush (D) | 73.8 | 239,943 |
 | Philanise White (R) | 26.2 | 85,027 | |
 | Ruth Pellegrini (Independent) (Write-in)  | 0.0 | 153 | |
| Total votes: 325,123 | |||
| = 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 1
Incumbent Bobby Rush defeated Sarah Gad, Robert Emmons Jr., and Ameena Nuur Matthews in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 1 on March 17, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Bobby Rush | 71.5 | 94,863 |
 | Sarah Gad | 10.4 | 13,783 | |
 | Robert Emmons Jr. | 10.3 | 13,628 | |
| Ameena Nuur Matthews | 7.8 | 10,409 | ||
| Total votes: 132,683 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Robert Palmer (D)
- Darnell Leatherwood (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Illinois District 1
Philanise White advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Illinois District 1 on March 17, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Philanise White | 100.0 | 10,134 |
| Total votes: 10,134 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Jimmy Lee Tillman II (R)
- John Wassenaar (R)
- Lynn Franco (R)
Campaign themes
2020
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Robert Emmons Jr. completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Emmons' responses.
What would be your top three priorities, if elected?
1. Classifying gun violence as a public health epidemic under the CDC. 2. Fighting for Progressive solutions like Medicare-for-All, A Green New Deal, Universal Pre-K, equity-based covered college, and many more priorities that seek to reinvigorate the 1st District of Illinois and eliminate everyday gun violence within a generation. 3. Guiding cultural shifts in our national perception of everyday gun violence, not only through our government’s handling of it, but the national discourse that surrounds it.
What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?
We must commit to ending everyday gun violence prevention within a generation. This is first and foremost. I believe that many of the issues that impact our district can trace their effects to the violence within our communities. By reversing the effects of environmental racism, providing sustainable income and education accessibility for everyone, we can mitigate the factors that allow everyday gun violence to continue in our district. We also cannot shy away from topics such as reparations, using these policy ideas to allow our communities to heal from within. Attacking gun violence at its root causes forces us to dissect each of these issues one by one, and when we do so, we can begin to unravel the issue from the ground up. This is why I am firmly convinced we can obtain peace within a generation.
Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?
The Alchemist - The book is written in a way in which the reader becomes the protagonist. Our policies should be written in the same way. Americans should be able to see how they fit into the vision set forth in the policies.
What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?
We need elected officials who: 1. Don’t believe that power derives from the elected but from the community. 2. Builds consensus, don’t simply conform to it. 3. Are compassionate and measured in their approach to solving problems. 4. Are able to empathize with all of their constituents, regardless of demographic. 5. See the best in our people and our nation, yet also see where our country can be improved.
What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?
I have and I will continue to work day and night to reinvigorate this district. I will do so by working with the community, using our collective resources and the power of Federal support to make the district stronger. The solutions to our problems are in the minds of those who understand them. Whether it’s in the mind of the little Black girl from Englewood who dreams of becoming a doctor, or the child in Manhattan, IL who dreams of becoming an Actor in Chicago, or my own grandmother, who kneels in prayer every Sunday for a more hopeful tomorrow. We cannot let progress falter and our dreams fizzle, no matter how difficult the realities of our everyday might be. This campaign is about setting our minds on the district that we deserve, then making it a reality together.
What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?
Above all, our district needs a voice. This is something that we have not had in IL-01 for a very long time. We need someone who does not believe there is a monopoly on good ideas, but listens and engages with their communities from election to their last day in office. Anyone can identify the problems that impact our district, but fulfilling these core responsibilities will allow us to solve them.
What legacy would you like to leave?
It has always been my primary focus to end gun violence within our lifetime. We can do this by fixing all of our issues from the ground-up. We need to invest in a better future for our children on day one, across the board. They should never find themselves in a position where they feel compelled to resort to gun violence. We must also work towards eliminating policies that separate families from one another. Mass incarceration has had a profound impact on the First District. We cannot achieve stability in our communities without ending the institutional racism that has torn families apart and derailed the futures of our youth for decades. I would like to leave a legacy not only for myself, but for our district. There are few places that suffer from everyday gun violence in the way that IL-01 does, and I would like us to help lead the charge in creating a reality where this problem no longer exists.
What is something that has been a struggle in your life?
The loss of my best friend. We were roommates together at the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign. Despite his best efforts to bring up his academic performance, he was ultimately told that he would not be a good fit for the University and left after his freshman year. Shortly after he returned to Chicago, he was shot and killed in Chicago. The disappointment I felt towards the University quickly became disappointment towards my myself. The shame became so unbearable that I left school altogether. It took a great deal of courage for me to understand that I was not a coward because I felt such fear and shame, but that true courage was achieved if I took these feelings head on and overcame them. To this day, I still reflect on my friend, but the struggle I overcame was the most difficult of my life, and it allowed me to become the person I am today.
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.
See also
2020 Elections
External links
Footnotes
