It’s critical to vote in spring primaries

The primary election early voting starts Feb. 5. It’s time to start to focus.

The Democratic Party is more important than ever with lots of candidates. The key issue is taking back the House, and getting to 218 Democrats. The primary gives an opportunity to select the best possible candidates. There are many candidates on the ballot in the Congressional races, so you really need to pay attention. In some situations, the primary winner can be the person who ends up in Congress, which makes the primary critical. With many candidates on the ballot, the winner could prevail with a very small percentage of the vote.

That is the reason to rally around the best and strongest candidate in each race. We need candidates who not only will stand up to Trump, but candidates who understand the issues and who will fight and know how to get things done to implement action on affordability, gun violence, equality, choice, voting rights and foreign policy that reflect Democratic core values.

We are lucky to have such candidates who we need to support in the 8th, 9th and 10th Congressional Districts. They are Ken Morrison in the 8th, Laura Fine in the 9th and incumbent Brad Schneider in the 10th. As a former mayor and longtime public policy advocate, I have worked with all of them and stand behind them since they are all good people and proven fighters.

Sadly, the turnout in primaries is way too low and usually does not reflect the focus of the majority of the registered voters, many who sit out. Let’s turn that around. Let’s turn the energy we have seen by many who have been out at demonstration into action. Get yourself, your family, friends and neighbors out to vote and to support candidates like Morrison, Fine and Schneider who can make a difference.

Elliott Hartstein

Northbrook