Neil Khot: 2026 candidate for the 8th Congressional District

Bio

Party: Democratic

Office sought: 8th Congressional District

City: Hoffman Estates

Age: 51

Occupation: CEO

Previous offices held: N/A

Q&A

What is your top issue and how do you propose to address it?

The top issue facing this district is the affordability crisis and the lawlessness of the Trump Administration.

From Elgin to Carol Stream and across Schaumburg and other communities in the 8th District, families across the district are having to go to food pantries to feed themselves and their families. We have documented incidents across the district where neighbors have kidnapped and mistreated. Members of my team who know and trust have personally witnessed and experienced these horrors.

I will focus on ensuring Americans have access to quality, affordable healthcare by protecting ACA subsidies and strengthening and expanding Obamacare.

I will work to repeal the reckless Trump tariffs that are jacking up prices for consumers, and I will fight to hold the Trump Administration accountable for using our own tax dollars to terrorize our communities with ICE.

Do you support the unilateral foreign policy course President Trump has taken with such actions as the bombing of Iran, assaults on Venezuelan ships and the seizure of the Venezuelan president?

The President should not have unchecked authority to order military strikes without Congressional authorization. President Trump’s reckless and lawless actions have committed the United States to another open-ended military engagement with no clue how much it will cost and no clear exit strategy.

Furthermore, he is illegally seizing oil and depositing it in foreign banks to be used as an international slush fund with no Congressional oversight. This reckless and illegal behavior must be stopped immediately, and the Trump Administration and those who have enabled it must be held legally accountable.

The executive branch has expanded its powers in recent years on foreign policy, economic tariffs, executive orders and more. Are you satisfied with the direction these activities are moving? If so, why? If not, what needs to be done differently?

Congress must reassert its role as a check on the executive branch. Our founding fathers created a government predicated on checks and balances and the separation of powers so that one branch of government does not overpower the others.

To allow for unchecked power to continue to flow into the executive branch would be to move in the direction of autocratic regimes like those found in Russia and North Korea.

To address the power imbalance, I support restoring Congressional oversight over war powers and requiring that all tariffs be approved by Congress.

What should U.S. border policy be? If elected, what would you do to make it happen?

America is and always will be a nation of immigrants. I, like millions before me, immigrated to this country with the hope of the opportunity to work hard and accomplish my dreams. Yet that same system is broken today.

I support creating more streamlined legal pathways to come to America while continuing to invest in security with transparency and congressional oversight.

We must abolish ICE and replace it with a humane and sensible enforcement policy. I will also support legislation aimed at reducing visa backlogs and rolling back the Trump administration’s draconian policies for students and skilled workers.

What should be the government’s role in assuring health care for Americans? What should be done regarding the ACA to better perform this function?

We must make sure that everybody has access to quality, affordable healthcare. Right now, the best mechanism we have to do that is by strengthening the Affordable Care Act. We need to protect subsidies that ensure that people are able to see a doctor when they get sick, and seek emergency care when they need it.

We must also look at tackling skyrocketing costs by ensuring that the programs like Medicare and the VA can bargain directly with drug companies to get lower costs for patients and taxpayers.

What is your vision for a solution to conflicts involving Israel and the Palestinians? What should the United States be doing to advance this position?

The only viable way to end this tragic conflict which has been occurring in some capacity or another for nearly a century is a two state solution with a credible, democratic Palestinian government. As Gaza reels from two years of war and two decades of oppression, the United States must continue supporting the creation of a civil government for the strip.

Following the reconstruction of Gaza and the creation of a viable, peaceful Palestinian government, I would support the immediate recognition of the new government.