Who is running for the U.S. House in Illinois' 8th Congressional District?

With U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi giving up his seat in the House to run for the Senate, voters in Illinois' 8th Congressional District face a crowded ballot in the Democratic primary on March 17.  

The district includes the Far Northwest Side of Chicago near O'Hare Airport, and several western and northwestern suburbs, including parts of Carol Stream, Schaumburg, Hoffman Estates, Elgin, and Geneva. 

Here's who is on the ballot for the 8th District primary elections on March 17.  

Who are the Democrats running in the 8th District?

Junaid Ahmed

Ahmed is the owner of a small information technology consulting firm and founder of a nonprofit that delivers meals to the homeless.

His priorities include restoring and expanding federal funding for early childhood education, senior nutrition, and veterans' care; protecting voting rights; providing tax cuts for working families; expanding Medicare coverage and lowering the corsts of prescription drugs; ending all U.S. military aid to Israel; realizing self-determiniation for Palestine and ending the Israeli occupation of Gaza and the West Bank; expanding Medicaid to cover all uninsured Americans; strengthening clean air and water protections; investing more in clean energy; raising the federal minimum wage; increasing federal funding for public schools; anc canceling student loan debt.

Campaign website: junaidforus.com

Hanover Park Village Trustee Yasmeen Bankole

Bankole has been a village trustee in Hanover Park since 2021. She also is an outreach director for U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, and a former aide to Rep. Krishnamoorthi.

Her priorities include passing Medicare for All, reversing President Trump's tariffs, investing in job training and apprenticeships, providing a pathway to citizenship for all immigrants, protecting access to abortions, raising the federal minimum wage to $17 an hour, funding mental health ervices, banning assault weapons, restoring foreign aid cut by the Trump administration, and setting a regulatory framework for cryptocurrency.

Campaign website: yasmeenbankole.com

Melissa Bean

Bean was the congresswoman in the 8th District in Illinois from 2005 to 2011, after which she went on to work for JP Morgan Chase and Mesirow Wealth Advisors.

Her priorities include providing more federal funding for public schools, workforce training, and apprenticeships; supporting comprehensive immigration reform; protecting and strengthening the Affordable Care Act; allowing Medicare to negotiate lower prescription drug prices; reversing the Trump administration's cuts to Medicaid; regulating AI and cryptocurrency; reversing cuts to the U.S. Department of Education; protecting and expanding voting rights; defending access to abortions; and protecting marriage equality.

Campaign website: melissabeanforcongress.com

Sanjyot Dunung

Dunung is founder and CEO of Atma Global, a developer of learning content and solutions for the corporate, education, and government markets. 

Her priorities include protecting voting rights; lowering taxes on working families; investing in universal early childhood education; raising the federal minimum wage; investing in renewable energy; protecting Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security; providing a permanent path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children; regulating 3D-printed gun manufacturing; and implementing universal background checks for gun purchases.

Campaign website: sanjyotforcongress.com

Neil Khot

Khot is a business owner and community activist.

His priorities include women's rights, strengthening Social Security and Medicare, promoting development of data centers and research parks, creating more legal pathways to citizenship for immigrants, protecting Affordable Care Act subsidies, restoring full funding for the Department of Education, expanding federal funding for vocational and technical education, increasing funding for STEM programs from kindergarten through post-doctoral levels, investing more in clean energy, and restoring funding for foreign aid programs.

Campaign website: neilforcongress.com

Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison

Morrison has been a Cook County Commissioner since 2018 in the 15th District, which covers several northwestern suburbs, including parts of Barrington, Hoffman Estates, Elgin, Bartlett, Hanover Park, Elk Grove Village, and Schaumburg. He was the first openly gay person ever elected to the Cook County Board of Commissioners.

His priorities include guaranteeing universal childcare, eliminating President Trump's tariffs on imported construction products, making it easier for small businesses to obtain loans, increasing taxes on billionaires, regulating cyrptocurrency and AI, creating universal healthcare, reversing the Trump administration's cuts to Medicaid, expanding and strengthening the Affordable Care Act, banning ICE agents from wearing masks, expanding voting rights, codifying Roe v. Wade into law, increasing the federal minimum wage, and investing in clean energy.

Campaign website: kevinmorrisonforcongress.com

Dan Tully

Tully is an attorney and U.S. Army veteran who spent 7 ½ years as a judge advocate in the Army Reserves, and also served in the headquarters of the Green Berets to facilitate intelligence investigations

His priorities include banning stock trading by all members of Congress, opposing President Trump's tariffs, increasing the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, raising taxes on billionaires and large corporations, passing Medicare for All, allowing Medicare to negotiate lower prescription drug costs, protecting access to abortions, banning assault weapons, protecting Medicaid and Social Security, banning federal agents from wearing masks, creating more pathways to citzenship for undocumented immigrants, rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement, and regulating crytpocurrencty and AI.

Campaign website: dantully.com

Ryan Vetticad

Vetticad is a former Justice Department worker in the counterterrorism section of the national security division. He's also a former teacher.

His priorities include setting limits on campaign spending; banning congressional stock trading; reversing President Trump's tariffs; passing Medicare for All; expanding Social Security; and requiring universal background checks, mandatory waiting periods, and gun safety training for all firearm purchases.

Campaign website: ryanforillinois.com

Who are the Republicans running in the 8th District?

Kevin Ake

Ake is a certified public accountant and U.S. Army veteran.

Ake has no campaign website and his campaign Facebook page does not list any policy priorities or agendas.

Jennifer Davis

Davis is the co-owner of a software company in the field of service technology.

Her priorities include reducing taxes on businesses; cutting administrative costs at public schools; investing in vocational training; enforcing existing immigration laws; streamlining legal pathways to citizenship; expanding American oil, gas, and renewable energy production; securing advanced training, modern equipment, and new technology for police; and reducing taxes on families.

Campaign website: votejenniferdavis.com

Herbert Hebein

Hebein is a retired Chicago police officer.

His priorities include supporting domestic energy production, lowering and simplifying federal taxes, and enforcing existing immigration laws.

Campaign website: electherb.com

Mark Rice

Rice is CEO of an energy brokerage business, and founder of two youth football and basketball programs.

His priorities include term limits for elected officials, securing the borders, cutting government bureaucracy, and strenthening the military.

Campaign website: rice4congress.com