March 28, 2024
2022 Election Primary: 14th Congressional District


2022 Election Primary: 14th Congressional District

GOP hopefuls for Illinois’ 14th Congressional District try to balance messaging on abortion, election integrity

The candidates are vying for the GOP nomination to challenge Rep. Lauren Underwood

Republican candidates in the 14th Congressional District primary (Clockwise from left) Jack Lombardi, Jaime Milton Scott Gryder and James Marter (bottom left) participated in a joint virtual interview with the Daily Herald and Shaw Media on May 10, 2022.

Candidates running in the Republican primary race for the 14th Congressional District nomination have taken staunchly conservative positions on several issues while trying to appeal to enough voters to flip the seat held by Democratic incumbent Rep. Lauren Underwood.

Underwood is seeking a third term after flipping the seat in 2018 and narrowly winning reelection in 2020. But the 2022 midterm elections are expected to swing back in favor of Republicans. Historical trends show the party that loses the presidential election tends to do well in the following midterm contest.

Three of the five GOP hopefuls in the race – Jack Lombardi of Manhattan, James Marter of Oswego and Jaime Milton of Fox River Grove – participated in a joint interview with the Daily Herald and Shaw Media on Tuesday. Scott Gryder of Oswego answered questions during a separate interview session. Michael Koolidge of Rochelle did not participate.

The candidates are competing to win the June 28 primary election in the new district that includes parts of Kane, Will, DeKalb, Kendall, LaSalle, Bureau and Putnam counties.

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Lombardi, Marter and Milton all were supportive of the U.S. Supreme Court’s apparent readiness to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision legalizing abortion nationwide.

Yet, two of them didn’t go as far as to support a nationwide ban on abortion and instead said abortion policy should be left up to individual states to decide.

“This is a state issue,” Milton said. “It should have never been mandated at the federal level.”

Lombardi called the ruling in Roe v. Wade “garbage” and said it always should have been a state-level issue.

Marter said it was a “scourge on our nation” that abortion was legalized nationwide and said he would support federal legislation banning abortion.

“It’s a human life,” Marter said. “And all life needs to be protected.”

Still, Marter added there might be some instances in which the fetus might be lost if the life of the mother is in danger, although he believed both should try to be saved.

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Gryder said, as an attorney, he thought the Roe v. Wade ruling was one of the “weakest structured cases” he had ever read. Gryder added he was against abortion with exceptions of instances of rape, incest or when the life of the mother was in danger.

He said states should make their own policies, but if he were elected and asked to vote on a nationwide abortion ban, he would do so.

The candidates were less direct when answering other questions, such as whether President Joe Biden legitimately won the 2020 presidential election.

Lombardi and Milton said they didn’t know for sure whether Biden’s election was legitimate.

Marter said it was clear to him there was “massive fraud” during the 2020 election, a claim for which there is no evidence. He called the results “illegitimate” and said claims of fraud needed to be adjudicated, even though several legal challenges to the results were unsuccessful.

Gryder was the only one who said Biden won legitimately.

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“You know how I know that? He’s in the White House,” Gryder said, referring to Biden.

Still, Gryder said election integrity “is an issue” and that Congress should address it. That’s despite the Election Infrastructure Government Coordinating Council Executive Committee calling the 2020 election “the most secure in American history.”

When asked how they would appeal to more moderate voters in the district, the candidates tended to focus on their own personal approach or backgrounds instead of specific policy positions.

Milton said she’s actively pursued support from non-Republican voters. When asked for specifics on how, she brought up election integrity, an issue former President Trump and his supporters have focused on.

Marter pointed to his involvement in his local community in Kendall County and service in the Boy Scouts of America and as a sports coach.

“We don’t have a litmus test for if you’re a Republican or Democrat,” he said of his community involvement. “It’s being on the ground, in the community, and working with people every day.”

Lombardi took the opportunity to again attack Democrats on inflation and spoke of his financial struggles as a single father.

“It’s no good,” he said of Democratic policies. “It’s a loser.”

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He also pointed to his multi-racial family and argued reaching out to diverse constituents was “not a problem” for him.

“Making sure they can take care of their families, making sure they can take care of their children ... is something that’s most important to me,” he said.

Gryder said he wouldn’t be running in the race if he didn’t think a Republican could win the seat. He pointed to his service leading the Kendall County Board as chair, his defeat of Democratic general election opponents three times, and support from unions.

“I bring results, not just rhetoric, to the table,” he said.

Alex Ortiz

Alex Ortiz

Alex Ortiz is a reporter for The Herald-News in Joliet. Originally from Romeoville, Ill., he joined The Herald-News in 2017 and mostly covers Will County government, politics, education and more. He earned his bachelor's degree at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a master's degree from Northwestern University.