[skimbell]

I'm over on the west side of Illinois and we're having a battle over the seat open due to Bustos quitting.
The Republicans are running a pretty right leaning female JAG attorney named Ester Joy King, who almost beat Bustos last cycle.
The dems are running a local ex tv weatherman named Eric Sorensen. He's big in the LGBT community. Last year while he was still employed by the local ABC affiliate, he did his weather broadcasts from gay bars around town during Pride Month.
The Republicans are attacking his flamboyant lifestye and implying that he's looking to join in on the swamp action.
The democrats are attacking King viciously by repeatedly stating that she is "unapologetically pro-life". I can't see how that sort of attack is going to hurt her in western Illinois.

[Southside_Chicago_Republican]

I have been living in Indiana since 2013, first congressional district, which has been safe D forever. Sometimes there has been no Republican running (I voted Libertarian once) and the last couple of times the R was a perennial candidate and loser. The Democrat Frank Mrvan is in his first term. The Republican is Jennifer-Ruth Green, who is black, conservative, a veteran, and strongly pro-life. I have never seen any kind of TV ads in this district before, but this year both sides are running them. Green is running against Mrvan’s voting record on taxes and the economy. Mrvan’s ads against Green paint her as an anti-abortion “extremist” (a lie). I get nice campaign literature on my doorstep a couple of times a week from Green. I have no idea what the polls look like, but I am wondering if the Dems are afraid of losing here. There is an unusual amount of attention being focused on this race. If Green runs strong in Republican areas and can get black votes in Hammond and Gary, who knows?