Moderate Party member running for Congress

A fifth candidate has entered the race to unseat incumbent U.S. Rep. Melissa Bean in the 8th Congressional District.

Iain Abernathy, a Round Lake retirement benefits analyst, will run for the seat for the Moderate Party.

Abernathy said his main goal is to keep the peace in the world.

"We plan to keep the issue of peaceful security -- disarming enemies by means other than war -- in front of the 8th District voters in the 2008 election," Abernathy said. "Unless the Democrats reject the incumbent, the two corporate parties would leave us again with nothing but two pro-war candidates to choose between."

The party is an independent federal party established in 2006 by gathering 15,000 signatures to get on the ballot and winning more than 5 percent of the vote in the general election.

Abernathy is not expected to be challenged by anyone else in the Moderate Party in the Feb. 5 primary. If he's not, he would be placed on the November 2008 general election ballot.

Republicans Kirk Morris of Gurnee, Steve Greenberg of Long Grove and Ken Arnold of Gurnee will be on the Feb. 5 primary ballot.

Bean will face off against Lindenhurst's Randi Scheurer in the Democratic primary.

The winners of those races will move on to the November general election ballot.

Towns in the 8th Congressional District include Barrington, Long Grove, Antioch, Gurnee, Grayslake, Palatine, Crystal Lake and Hanover Park. The district spans portions of Cook, Lake and McHenry counties.