Sean Casten

In the 2024 House race for IL-6, Sean Casten (D) won with 54.2% of the vote, defeating Niki Conforti (R) who received 45.8%. A third candidate also appeared on the ballot. Sean Casten's 8.4-point lead over the runner-up showed solid but not overwhelming support.

As the incumbent, Sean Casten benefited from name recognition, established constituent services, and the roughly 2-3 point advantage that sitting members typically enjoy. The 2024 presidential election drove higher voter turnout, which can help or hurt down-ballot candidates depending on the top of the ticket. This seat will likely stay on party watch lists as potentially competitive in future cycles.

In the 2022 House race for IL-6, Sean Casten (D) won with 54.4% of the vote, defeating Keith Pekau (R) who received 45.6%. A third candidate also appeared on the ballot. Sean Casten's 8.7-point lead over the runner-up showed solid but not overwhelming support.

As the incumbent, Sean Casten benefited from name recognition, established constituent services, and the roughly 2-3 point advantage that sitting members typically enjoy. As a Democrat, Sean Casten won despite the historical midterm penalty against the president's party (Democrat Biden was in office). This seat will likely stay on party watch lists as potentially competitive in future cycles.

In the 2020 House race for IL-6, Sean Casten (D) won with 52.8% of the vote, defeating Jeanne M. Ives (R) who received 45.4%. A third candidate also appeared on the ballot. Sean Casten's 7.4-point lead over the runner-up showed solid but not overwhelming support.

This was an open-seat race. Open seats typically attract stronger candidates and heavier spending from both parties. The 2020 presidential election drove higher voter turnout, which can help or hurt down-ballot candidates depending on the top of the ticket. This seat will likely stay on party watch lists as potentially competitive in future cycles.

In the 2018 House race for IL-06, Sean Casten (D) defeated Peter J. Roskam (R) 53.6% to 46.4%. Sean Casten received 169,001 votes compared to 146,445 for Peter J. Roskam, a 7.2-point margin that indicates a genuinely contested race.

Sean Casten defeated the incumbent Peter J. Roskam (R), which is a significant political event — most incumbents win re-election by wide margins. This was a general election upset. As a Democrat, Sean Casten benefited from the historical midterm penalty against the president's party — with a Republican in the White House, the opposition typically gains seats.