Underwood campaign responds to dismissal of Jim Oberweis’ election contest

Underwood’s campaign called the challenge ‘political theater’

State Sen. Jim Oberweis, who lost the 14th Congressional District race to U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood by 5,374 votes, announced Thursday that his campaign has filed for a discovery recount in DuPage County.

The U.S. House of Representatives voted Wednesday to officially dismiss Jim Oberweis’ election contest. Illinois 14th Congressional District Rep. Lauren Underwood’s campaign called the contest “political theater,” and said it will continue to prioritize issues affecting the community.

Oberweis filed to contest the 2020 election in early January after Underwood was sworn into the 117th Congress.

Underwood’s campaign spokesperson Jordan Troy said in a news release Oberweis’ contest was a distraction that wasted resources.

“For the past six months, he has taken the attention away from the issues affecting our communities by wasting taxpayer resources with his political theater,” Troy said. “And while this chapter may finally be over, many members of the Republican Party still continue to question the merits of our democratic process by undermining our free and fair elections.”

Troy said Underwood will continue to prioritize the community’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.