“Since Sean Casten came to Congress, he has been a strong voice for residents in the 6th District, delivering on their priorities like providing access to affordable health care, promoting policies that grow our economy, and combating the climate crisis,” DCCC Chairwoman Cheri Bustos said. “Voters can count on Sean to honestly represent their best interests, unlike Jeanne Ives whose Trump-esque demeanor is far out of step with the district.”
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To: Interested Parties
From: Courtney Rice DCCC Regional Press Secretary
Date: March 17, 2020
Subject: The Case Against Jeanne Ives
Tonight’s Republican primary results in Illinois’ 6th Congressional District put Representative Sean Casten in a strong position to win re-election in this well-educated, urban-suburban seat that sits to the west and northwest of Chicago. The cost of communicating in the Chicago media market, coupled with the district’s recent trend toward Democrats, means that Republicans won’t be eager to invest here thanks to Casten’s strong local brand focused on lowering health care costs and prioritizing families, and his commanding cash-on-hand total.
Known as a businessman and scientist, Rep. Casten ran on a promise to be visible and accessible to his constituents and to take their interests and concerns to Washington. That’s why he’s fighting for increased access to affordable health care, against Washington Republicans’ tax agenda that unfairly burdens residents in the district, and for a solution to the climate crisis.
Rep. Casten will face far-right, perennial politician Jeanne Ives who is best known for her failed 2018 gubernatorial challenge to then-Governor Bruce Rauner. In that primary, and during her three terms in the Illinois General Assembly, Ives exposed herself as a recklessly out-of-the-mainstream politician, running on extreme social views and platforms. Now that Ives is running in this Democratic-leaning district, however, she’s attempting to sell herself as a moderate to voters in order to do well, but her record tells a different story. No matter how hard she tries, she won’t be able to mask her support for the Trump-Roskam tax plan that disproportionately hurts residents in the 6th or her endorsement of the GOP health care repeal agenda that would end health care protections for pre-existing conditions. Those plans are out-of-step with voters in the 6th District and make her candidacy untenable.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
SOLID DEM RATING: “6th District (Western Chicago suburbs) Sean Casten, D, elected 54%. Clinton 50%. Republicans are poised to nominate polarizing former state Rep. Jeanne Ives ($313,000 on Dec. 31) in a suburban district against Casten ($1.9 million). With the Chicago media market, this would be an expensive fight that Republicans aren’t likely to take on. Move from Likely D to Solid D.” [Inside Elections, 02/21/20]
Ives’ “combative style in the General Assembly led to few accomplishments in her three terms there.” [Chicago Tribune, 07/22/19]
EDITORIAL BOARD: “We still see in Ives a candidate more eager for combat than cooperation.” [Daily Herald, 02/20/20]
EDITORIAL BOARD: Ives “is not a unifier.” [Chicago Sun-Times, 02/12/20]
HEADLINE: Casten tackles high cost of diabetes medication. [My Suburban Life, 06/14/19]
HEADLINE: GOP Congressional candidate Jeanne Ives campaign flyer asks for donations of up to $80,000. The federal limit is $5,600. [Chicago Tribune, 01/17/20]
Jeanne Ives: Too Extreme for IL-06
JEANNE IVES’ TAX PLAN IS BAD FOR ILLINOISANS
You might remember former Congressman Peter Roskam, a principle architect of the Republican tax scam that independent experts, local press, and constituents harshly criticized for how it negatively affects taxpayers in Illinois. That very same ex-congressman endorsed Jeanne Ives’ candidacy. So it’s not a surprise that Ives has praised the Roskam-GOP tax plan, saying her “top priority if elected” would be to make the plan “permanent.” Reminder: included in this bill was a cap on the State and Local Tax Deduction (SALT) that nearly half of residents in the 6th District claim for almost $5 million in federal tax relief.
In sharp contrast, Rep. Casten is working to amend the deduction cap that has “unfairly affected” residents in the district. As Casten told the Daily-Chronicle, this issue is “top-of-mind” for voters, which is why he worked with Rep. Lauren Underwood to raise the cap and eliminate the ‘marriage penalty.’
JEANNE IVES WANTS TO MAKE YOUR HEALTH CARE MORE EXPENSIVE
Health care continues to be a top priority for voters – with roughly 80% of Americans citing it as their number one concern – but Jeanne Ives has consistently supported actions that would limit access to affordable health care. In fact, Ives “endorsed” the Republican Study Committee’s health care proposal, calling it “the best… [she] ha[s] ever read.” That plan would:
- Dismantle the Affordable Care Act and replace it with disastrous Republican proposals that would slash coverage, increase costs, and gut protections for people with pre-existing conditions – including 317,800 people in the 6th District;
- Undo the Essential Health Benefits required under the ACA, that require insurance companies to cover pregnancy coverage, mental health services, and prescription drug coverage, and;
- Place an “immediate moratorium” on Medicaid expansion and phase out expansion where it already exists.
This comes as no surprise, since in 2018 Ives specifically called out Illinois’ Medicaid expansion, which has provided health care coverage to more than 700,000 people in the state, as “wrong.”
While Ives has worked against everyday Illinoisans’ health care, Rep. Sean Casten has made it a priority to stand up for Illinoisans’ health care – fighting against attacks to repeal the ACA and against funding for the federal court case that would gut the current law, including protections for pre-existing conditions such as asthma and cancer. Casten is also fighting to address drug companies’ unfair price hikes.
JEANNE IVES IS ATTEMPTING TO HIDE HER TRUMP-LIKE TENDENCIES TO VOTERS
In 2018, Jeanne Ives launched a far-right primary challenge to then-Governor Bruce Rauner (R), where she became known for “her controversial political history.” But now that Ives is running for Congress in the 6th District, she’s attempting to moderate and hide her “flame-thrower,” Trump-like tendencies from voters. But Ives can’t run from her controversial record:
- Ives was known for displaying a “hard-edged social ideology”during her time in the Illinois House.
- During the 2018 primary, Ives’ campaign produced an anti-Rauner ad that was “ripped” as “racist, sexist, [and] homophobic.” Even the Chair of the Illinois Republican Party called on Ives to take down the ad and apologize to Illinoisans.
- Her congressional primary opponent, Jay Kinzler, called her “divisive”and noted that “she has some pretty bad baggage in the past things she’s said, things she has voted on. I think that will be tough for her to beat” Casten in November.
Voters in the 6th District don’t want a Trump clone, they want a representative who’s going to be an independent voice for them, and that’s Sean Casten.
JEANNE IVES’ DANGEROUS POSITIONS ON GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION ARE OUT-OF-STEP WITH THE DISTRICT
Voters in the 6th District know that Jeanne Ives, who has an “A” rating from the NRA, is far out-of-step with their views on gun safety. Ives supported arming teachers in schools, arguing that “folks [should] have no problem with” it. Even after the Parkland Massacre – one of the deadliest school shootings in our nation’s history – Ives opposed new gun control measures, saying that Illinois had “good gun regulations already in place.” Furthermore, Ives opposed a ban on gun silencers and gun dealers in Illinois being licensed by the state, referring to them as “onerous.”
A survey of Illinois residents from September 2019 found that voters, “across party lines, largely support more gun regulations” including 92% of respondents who support making mental health background checks more stringent. That’s why Rep. Casten, who is in line with the community he represents, pushed to strengthen background checks when he got to Congress.
Path to Victory
This affluent, well-educated suburban district outside of Chicago continues to trend Democratic. In 2018, Sean Casten won the 6th District by 7.2 points, beating then-Congressman Peter Roskam 53.6% to 46.4%, despite raising less money throughout the cycle than the Congressman he defeated. In 2016, Hillary Clinton won the district with 53.7% and white, college-educated voters, who comprise a significant share of the electorate, are moving towards Democrats. To note, more than half (52.3%) of all residents in the district age twenty-five and older hold a college degree. While Illinois does not have party registration, voters within the district tend to identify as Democrats.
Sean Casten has made it a point to travel the district and listen to his constituents’ concerns. To date, he has held over 27 town halls and has resolved almost 500 constituent cases. Cementing his advantage in an expensive media market, Casten starts the general election with a significant financial advantage over Ives, having raised over $3 million this cycle.
To win in November, Representative Sean Casten needs to replicate his high level of support (54.9%) in DuPage County where he outperformed Governor Pritzker’s 2018 performance. In 2016, DuPage County comprised more than half of the vote within the 6th District and we expect it to comprise a similar share this year. Additionally, Casten needs to maintain his level of support with white, college educated voters. Given his record in Congress, working to bring solutions for the community he represents, Sean Casten is on path to do just that.