Early front-runner Melissa Bean seeks to reclaim 8th Congressional District seat she lost in 2010

Eight Democrats vying to take U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi’s 8th Congressional District seat are set to battle it out in Tuesday’s primary.

With Krishnamoorthi seeking Dick Durbin’s open U.S. Senate seat, three-time former U.S. Rep. Melissa Bean had amassed the largest war chest in her attempt to reclaim the seat she lost in 2010 in a Tea Party wave upset.

Bean is returning to the political arena 16 years after she lost her post to conservative Joe Walsh . The solidly Democratic 8th Congressional District, redrawn in 2023, stretches from the Far Northwest Side, near O'Hare, west to parts of Elgin and Geneva.

With a moderate platform, and preaching pragmatism over polarization, Bean says she wants to confront President Trump over his administration's policies. Since losing the seat in 2010, a loss Bean has pinned on her vote for the Affordable Care Act, she has worked at private finance firms.

Bean's campaign has benefited from $3.4 million from groups associated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. The pro-Israeli group has been flooding local congressional races with cash for candidates who are most friendly to Israel.

Bean has endorsements from U.S. reps. Bill Foster, Brad Schneider and Nancy Pelosi, and U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, who once represented the same Congressional district.

As an early front-runner, Bean has been the subject of attack from many of her more progressive primary opponents.

Kevin Morrison, a two-term Cook County commissioner, said even Joe Walsh spoke more vocally against attacks on the Constitution and civil liberties than Bean did.

Junaid Ahmed, who ran for the seat and lost in 2022, has called to abolish U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and an end to military aid to Israel over its war in Gaza. He was endorsed by progressive Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Neil Khot, who has no political experience but raised more funds than anyone except Bean, is a Hoffman Estates businessman who says his private sector experience could bring "common-sense solutions" to Washington.

Dan Tully, a former judge advocate in the U.S. Army Reserve and foreign assistance worker for the Department of Commerce, says his experience with the law and military are essential for the district's next representative.

Yasmeen Bankole, a trustee in Hanover Park who has worked in the offices of both Krishnamoorthi and U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, says her work in Congress has prepared her for the job.

Sanjyot Dunung, of Des Plaines, ran a center-left, business-focused platform to "rebuild the middle politically." Dunung runs a global education company and served on a foreign working group in the Biden administration.

Candidate Ryan Vetticad recently turned 25, the minimum required age for Congressional representatives.

The Republican primary field includes Jennifer Davis, Kevin Ake, Herbert Hebein and Mark Rice.