La Shawn Ford projected to win Democratic primary for Illinois 7th Congressional District
Illinois state Rep. La Shawn Ford is projected to be the winner of the crowded Democratic primary for the 7th Congressional District, in a race to replace U.S. Rep. Danny Davis, who will be retiring at the end of his term, according to CBS News analysis.
With 86% of the vote in, Ford is leading with 23.8% of the vote, Chicago City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin is in second place with 20.3%, and Anthony Driver is in third place with 11.3%. None of the other 10 candidates is in double digits.
Ford will face farmer and retired Delta pilot Chad Koppie in the general election, with Koppie projected to win the Republican primary over radio host Patricia Easley.
Davis, the senior member of Illinois' congressional delegation, has represented the district since 1997. He also sits on the powerful Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over all tax legislation in the House.
Colleagues said he'll be remembered for his stance on voting rights, affordable healthcare, criminal justice reform, social justice, and civil rights.
The district spans from the Englewood and Chicago Lawn neighborhoods on the South Side north to downtown Chicago, and west to Homan Square, North Lawndale, Garfield Park, Austin, and the western suburbs of Oak Park, Forest Park, Maywood, Broadview, Westchester, and Bellwood.
Davis said he is proud of the changes he's helped bring about throughout the district, including on the West and South sides of Chicago, but he said the country is at a crossroads, and a strong voice in the House of Representatives is vital at this moment in order to push back and counter action by the Trump administration in the White House.
"We can either go forward, or we can go backwards, and I think there are elements in our society who are, as I would say, hellbent on taking the country backwards as opposed to moving it forward," Davis said. "So resistance has to be the order of the day."