National Democratic arm says unseating Roskam a 2018 priority
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee says one of its top priorities in 2018 is unseating Rep. Peter Roskam, a six-term Republican who won 59 percent of the vote in November.
The 6th Congressional District represented by Roskam, of Wheaton, is one of 20 congressional districts nationwide identified by the DCCC for an investment that will include hiring a full-time staffer and launching digital ads.
"The organic strength of the women's marches, Affordable Care Act rallies, and protests can already be felt in Illinois 6th District, and this unprecedented DCCC investment will help capture that energy, engage voters and help make their voices heard," DCCC Chairman Ben Ray Lujan said in statement Thursday.
No specific Democratic opponent has surfaced, however.
Roskam was first elected in 2006, and has been re-elected by wide margins since then, most recently defeating Democrat Amanda Howland of Lake Zurich in November. But after the 2011 redistricting map changed congressional boundaries, lost portions of reliably Republican DuPage and picking up pieces of Lake and Kane counties, which pulled heavily for Democrat Hillary Clinton last fall.
Roskam's office has been the focus of several recent protests from residents unhappy with President Donald Trump's efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act and demanding he take action on climate change.
Roskam spokesman David Pasch said in a statement that "Peter is no stranger to the DCCC. He's focused on representing the people of the Western and Northwestern suburbs in Washington, not the other way around."
The 6th District includes most of Lake Zurich, Barrington, Algonquin, West Chicago, Wheaton and Glen Ellyn, as well as portions of surrounding towns.