13 Democrats vying for retiring Rep. Danny Davis' Illinois 7th Congressional District seat
CHICAGO (WLS) -- From River North and Fulton Market to the West Side of Chicago and beyond, Chinatown and Pilsen too, Illinois' 7th Congressional District is racially and economically diverse.
It has been held by Rep. Danny Davis for almost 30 years.
The field of candidates for the March 17 Democratic primary include La Shawn Ford, Melissa Conyears-Ervin, Kina Collins, Jason Friedman, Richard Boykin, Anthony Driver, David Ehrlich, Dr. Thomas Fisher, Rory Hoskins, Anabel Mendoza, Jazmin Robinson, Reed Showalter and Felix Tello.
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The retiring Congressman Davis has endorsed State Representative La Shawn Ford to carry his torch.
"It's my commitment that I will be a better Congressman than Congressman Davis It's my commitment that I would actually have a better constituent service than Congressman Davis," Ford said.
It's also Ford's commitment to pull in Davis' voter base. Every vote is crucial given how many candidates are vying for the democratic nomination. It is a crowded field of 13.
Chicago Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin is running for a second time.
"I am a bridge builder," Conyears-Ervin said. "If you look at my support, I have support from one of the most progressive unions, being the Chicago Teachers Union, to the Chicago firefighters, one of the most conservative unions."
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Progressive candidate Kina Collins is not giving up. This is her fourth run for the seat. She is counting on younger voters to finally give her a victory.
"A lot of the issues that our campaign had talked about, raising the federal minimum wage, universal health care and child care was really appealing to people all across the district," Collins said.
The 7th District has been a Black-held seat for decades. While the district has become more diverse, Conyears-Ervin says the South and West Sides cannot afford to lose representation.
There are also two Latino and two white candidates in the race.
"I'm four generations here in the city of Chicago," candidate Jason Friedman said. "My great-grandfather started as a peddler on Maxwell Street. Grandfather in a hot dog stand. My dad and I were the early pioneers of River North."
As the owner of Friedman properties, Friedman has built up River North, but he says its time to level the playing field for the entire district.
All candidates say they will stand up to President Donald Trump, and Super PACS have infiltrated the race, spending a lot of money on attack advertsiements against the top candidates.
Similar to other Chicago congressional districts, the 7th District is heavily Democratic. So, the winner of the March 17 primary has a lock on becoming a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
