Underwood to run for House again rather than U.S. Senate

Democratic U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood of Naperville will seek reelection in the 14th District next year rather than run for an open Senate seat.

“I’ve decided the most powerful way for me to defend our values and hold (President) Donald Trump accountable is to help Democrats win back the House,” Underwood said in a statement released to the media Monday afternoon.

First elected to Congress in 2018, Underwood received about 55% of the vote to defeat Oswego Republican James Marter in November and secure a fourth term.

Underwood has been actively fundraising for the seat and ended March with about $1.1 million in her campaign account, according to her latest finance report.

In her statement Monday, Underwood said she intends to help “a new generation of changemakers” get elected and flip the U.S. House blue. She serves as the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s recruitment co-chair.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries supported Underwood Monday.

“Lauren Underwood has been a force to be reckoned with in the House of Representatives since she successfully flipped a long-held Republican district in 2018,” Jeffries said in Underwood’s news release.

Marter intends to run again, which will be his sixth bid for federal office.

A software consultant whose lone term on the Oswego Public Library District board ends this month, he unsuccessfully sought a seat on the Oswego District 308 school board this spring.

In an interview earlier this month, Marter criticized Underwood for closely aligning with former President Joe Biden’s agenda.

Roman Valenciano, a Democrat from Earlville in LaSalle County, also intends to run.

The 14th District includes parts of Kane, Will and five other counties.

Even without Underwood, the 2026 Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate seat is shaping up to be a tough battle, now that incumbent Dick Durbin has said he won’t run again. Candidates already include U.S. Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi and Robin Kelly and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton.

As for Republicans, former congressional hopeful Doug Bennett of Deerfield and Des Plaines resident John Goodman have filed federal candidacy statements and have been raising campaign funds, records indicate.

Other candidates are likely to enter the fray on both sides.