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“Esther Joy King is Washington Republicans’ hand-picked candidate and would represent her party bosses, not Northwest Illinois, in Congress. From her efforts pushing an anti-worker agenda in Governor Rauner’s administration to her hardline positions opposing bipartisan infrastructure investments to bring jobs to IL-17, one look at her record confirms she’s bad news for Illinois. Eric Sorensen is the clear choice to carry on Congresswoman Cheri Bustos’ legacy of putting compromise and results-driven leadership first. In Congress, Eric will put facts and honesty ahead of political gamesmanship as he works to bring down rising costs and create more economic opportunity in Illinois,” said DCCC Chairman Sean Patrick Maloney.
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To: Interested Parties
From: Elena Kuhn, DCCC Regional Press Secretary
Date: June 28, 2022
Subject: The Case Against Esther Joy King
Tonight’s primary sets up a choice for Northwest Illinoisans between a hardline partisan in Esther Joy King and a lifelong IL-17 resident, Eric Sorensen, whose common sense leadership is grounded in truth, science, and facts.
Esther Joy King may be new to Northwest Illinois, but she’s made clear exactly who she is. King was plucked from Chicago by Washington party leaders to run for this seat – and that’s exactly who she’d serve if she’s elected. Already, King has shown she’d fall in line with her party’s extreme agenda by dangerously casting doubt on the results of the 2020 election and peddling the Big Lie that the election was stolen, even continuing to spread disinformation during her second run for office. She also supports their crusade to stop Illinois women from making their own reproductive decisions, repeatedly calling for and praising the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
As a former appointee in Governor Bruce Rauner’s failed administration, King oversaw the loss of thousands of jobs in the state and helped implement the governor’s union-busting agenda. It’s a shady record that is uniquely out of step with the union-heavy, middle-class district King wants to represent.
By comparison, Eric Sorensen grew up in a middle class family in Rockford and saw how even when the economy is doing well for some, it doesn’t do enough to reward hard work in places far away from big cities. It’s why Eric is committed to addressing the rising costs hitting Americans’ pocketbooks, bringing good-paying union jobs back to Northwest Illinois, and investing in trade schools, apprenticeships, and skills training programs to make sure anyone who’s willing to work has a chance to get ahead.
Eric has spent his career keeping people informed – as a scientist, meteorologist, and climate change expert. And in Congress, he’ll bring that same focus guided by the facts and data – not political gamesmanship and partisan divides – that is sorely needed in Washington.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
Quad City Times: Complaint filed with DOD against Republican Congressional candidate Esther Joy King for wearing military uniform in campaign ads [Quad City Times, 12/29/21]
KLJB: Moline veteran seeks to dethrone King in 17th Congressional District ethics complaint [KLJB, 1/4/22]
KLJB: Extended conversation: Joy King dodges on GOP divide over censures, Capitol attack [KLJB, 2/13/22]
“Republican running for Congress in Illinois shies away from controversial issue”
POLITICO: The Federal Election Commission has flagged Republican congressional candidate Esther Joy King for her campaign’s handling of financial contributions [POLITICO, 9/8/21]
“King is also late in filing her personal financial disclosures.”
Quad City Times: Former Channel 8 Meteorologist Eric Sorensen running for Congress [Quad City Times, 11/10/21]
“Sorensen said his science and meteorology background makes him uniquely qualified to tackle the climate change crisis.
“Climate change policy gets made at the federal level,” he said. “Local and state governments are still really important, but we need someone with a science background speaking in Washington.”
A CARPETBAGGER HANDPICKED BY REPUBLICAN PARTY LEADERS AND MEGA DONORS TO REPRESENT THEM IN WASHINGTON
Esther Joy King would have you believe she understands Illinois’ 17th Congressional District’s values, but the truth is this political opportunist blew in from the Windy City – moving from Chicago for her first failed campaign for this seat. After admitting that she planned to run for office since she was a child and openly complaining about the political difficulties for her in Chicago, King ran to represent IL-17, a district she had just moved to. King’s carpetbagging scheme is no coincidence – she was hand-picked by Washington party leaders and GOP mega donors to run for this competitive seat.
King’s campaign was bankrolled by far-right donors who are out of touch with Northwest Illinois values. King is propped up by anti-worker Republican donor Larry Anderson, a local businessman who stole nearly $20,000 from workers, and her campaign is bankrolled by GOP mega-donors like Dick Uihlein and Sheldon Adelson.
And when you take one look at her agenda it’s easy to see why. King is a rigid partisan who couldn’t name one instance where she disagreed with her party. King has indicated dangerous views on Social Security and Medicare, saying that “we will have tough choices to make” about Illinoisans’ hard-earned benefits – implying that these crucial programs could be on the chopping block. She’s even praised the 2017 GOP tax scam that increased the national debt by nearly $1.9 trillion while giving a windfall to the wealthiest one percent.
And to top it all off, King even opposed bipartisan investments to fix Illinois’ roads and bridges, and create jobs in IL-17 and instead promised to “fight” against the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law “with all we’ve got!” Already, Illinois has since seen historic investments in waterway infrastructure to ease supply chain issues, in road and bridge repairs, and in rural broadband to make high-speed internet access more accessible – none of which would’ve been possible if King got her way.
On issue after issue, Esther falls on the side of the big donors and Washington party leaders supporting her campaign. This Chicagoan is miles out of touch with the priorities of the hard-working IL-17 families she wants to represent, and she can’t be trusted to work together to bring down costs and strengthen the local economies of Northwest Illinois.
PATH TO VICTORY
After redistricting, Illinois’ 17th Congressional District improved nearly 4 percentage points toward Democrats. In 2020, President Biden would have won this district with 54% of the vote. Illinois voters have already rejected Esther Joy King once, and as this district improved for Democrats after redistricting, Eric Sorensen is well positioned to keep this seat blue.
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