Biden to visit Chicago area Friday, likely deadlock for suburban Democrats ahead of Election Day | Main stories

(NBC CHICAGO) – Just six days before the polls close for the 2022 Illinois midterm elections, the White House confirmed Wednesday that President Joe Biden will be in the Chicago area on Friday to advocate for Democrats ahead of the tightest congressional elections in the suburbs. racing.

While the White House has not confirmed exactly where President Biden will visit, This is reported by the Chicago Sun-Times that he will lead a get-out-the-vote rally for Democratic incumbent governor J. B. Pritzker, and is also expected to focus on promoting congressional candidates from the Chicago suburbs, including 6th District Congressman Sean Kasten of Downers Grove.

Race in Illinois’ 6th Congressional District is redrawn It’s coming down to the wire: Democratic incumbent Sean Kasten, Orland Park Mayor and Republican candidate Keith Peckau are getting some significant support from their respective party leaders.

Kasten, who defeated Rep. Marie Newman in this year’s Democratic primary, appeared at a forum on reproductive health with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi last week.

And Peckau, who won a crowded field in the Republican primary, will appear at a rally Friday with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, the man who could become the new speaker if Republicans take control of the House.

The red arrow points to the newly drawn 6th Congressional District, which is shaded in green.

The redistricting that took place in Illinois in 2021 significantly changed the composition of the 6th district, which is now larger and includes many of the southwest suburbs of Chicago. Four years ago, the once solidly Republican district flipped blue when Sean Kasten defeated incumbent Republican Peter Roskam.

“Some of the new parts of the county, some people don’t know me, don’t know the issues either, and you have to go out and communicate with them,” Kasten said in an interview with NBC 5 Chicago. “As long as voters are educated and as long as voters get out and vote, I feel good about our prospects.”

“People in Mount Greenwood and Beverly and Palos Hills and the Heights don’t buy into this ‘woke left’ program,” Peckau also told NBC 5 Chicago.

On Wednesday, the Republican-backed Congressional Leadership Foundation said it would buy $1.8 million worth of ads in the final days of the campaign. The Democratic majority in the House of Representatives bought $650,000 in ads to support Kasten, according to a Politico story Wednesday.

The White House also confirmed on Wednesday that Vice President Kamala Harris is set to visit Chicago on Sunday.

The vice president’s office said Harris “will deliver a speech” at an Asian American and Pacific Islander event in Chicago. Another source said the stop was likely an event for the AAPI Victory Fund, a political action committee. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, R-Ill., an Asian-American who is voting Tuesday, is also scheduled to attend the event.

Harris is the first woman, the first black person and the first Asian American to serve as vice president.