Daily Herald endorsement: Jeff Walter for GOP in 11th District in Congress

If Republicans have a chance at retaking the 11th congressional district from U.S. Rep. Bill Foster and the Democrats, their candidate must appeal on some level to GOP moderates and independents. Of the four hopefuls running in the GOP primary, the best fit for that mold is Elburn Village President Jeff Walter.

Walter has been mayor since 2017, after eight years on the village board. He was uncontested in his last two elections and his leadership of the growing community has been steady, helping to manifest him into an acknowledged regional leader. That alone won’t guarantee his success as a congressman, but being well-acquainted with other local leaders in the 11th District can only help him stay grounded with constituents if he makes it to Washington.

Walter, while saying he is a strong backer of President Donald Trump, has some differences of opinion with the president. He is troubled by the expansion of executive power by both parties, and says while a president must be able to act decisively in emergencies, “too often Congress has ceded its … responsibilities on foreign policy, tariffs, spending and major domestic policy.”

That Walter wants the current Republican-led Congress to take back the power of the purse, and more (“What needs to change is Congress reclaiming its constitutional role”) is heartening from a Trump-supporting Republican. Walter also disagrees with the administration’s decision to close the U.S. Department of Education, saying the department should instead be repurposed to focus on improving the national standards for all schools.

In contrast, fellow GOP candidate Mike Pierce of Naperville says there is no policy area where he disagrees with Trump. Walter and Pierce attended the Daily Herald editorial board’s endorsement session, while Charlie Kim of Aurora and Tedora Brown of Palos Park did not. Kim had a prior campaign commitment and Brown declined the invitation.

One disappointment we have with Walter is his insistence that we’ll never know who won the 2020 presidential election without it being fully investigated. But Pierce and Kim also question the 2020 election results and Brown wouldn’t answer the question on our questionnaire.

Pierce is a retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army, with a distinguished military career behind him. Brown is a real estate developer from Palos Park and Charlie Kim of Aurora is a business owner. Our choice is Walter.