GOP race for 14th Congressional seat features experienced candidates

The race for the Republican nomination in Illinois’ 14th Congressional District features two men with elected experience — but one has far more than the other.

Former library board member Jim Marter of Oswego and former township official Gary Vician of Somonauk are seeking the nomination. Whichever candidate wins the March 17 primary will face Democratic incumbent Lauren Underwood of Naperville in November’s general election.

The 14th District includes parts of Kane, Will and five other counties southwest of Chicago. Marter and Vician discussed their backgrounds and their campaign platforms in questionnaires for the Daily Herald and follow-up emails.

This is Marter’s sixth bid for federal office.

A 63-year-old software consultant, he ran for the U.S. Senate in 2016 and the 16th Congressional District in 2018 but didn’t get the GOP nomination either year. Marter similarly sought the GOP nomination in the 14th District in 2020 and 2022 before finally getting the nomination in 2024. He faced Underwood in the general election and lost by a 10-point margin.

Marter accused the media of not fairly covering the 2024 showdown with Underwood or his previous federal campaigns. “They never do,” he said in an email, referring to reporters as “the #FakeNews.”

Marter was elected to the Oswego Public Library board as a write-in candidate for an open seat in 2001. He lost a reelection bid in 2025, as well as a simultaneous run for a seat on the Oswego Unit School District 308 board.

A former Kendall County Republican Party chair, Marter called his experience as a federal candidate “a huge plus” in his current campaign. “Experience matters,” he said.

Vician, a 72-year-old retired teacher who until recently lived in Naperville, was first elected to office in 1985 when he joined the Addison Township board. He lived in Elmhurst at the time.

Vician was reelected to a four-year term in 1989. He didn’t run for a third term.

After moving to Naperville, Vician was elected to the Naperville Township board in 1997 and served until 2009, when he was elected township supervisor. He held that post until 2013.

Vician also served as chair of the Naperville Township Republican organization.

While a member of the Naperville Township board, Vician unsuccessfully ran for DuPage County regional superintendent of schools in 1998.

Vician ran for Naperville Township assessor in 2017 and tried to again in 2021. But the second time, he was part of a group of candidates that didn’t make it onto the ballot.

He said he won’t have to spend time learning how to govern if elected.

“As Naperville Township supervisor, I balanced budgets, reduced spending, proposed tax cuts, eliminated debt, expanded services for veterans and seniors and made township government more open and accountable to taxpayers,” he said in an email. “I answered directly to the taxpayers.”

Vician said he wants to serve the public, not build a political career. “Public office is about service, not status,” he said.