Incumbent Krishnamoorthi Wins 8th Congressional District: AP
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SCHAUMBURG, IL — Democrat incumbent Raja Krishnamoorthi is the projected winner for the U.S. House in Illinois’ 8th Congressional District, the Associated Press reported.
The congressional districts include parts of Cook, DuPage and Kane counties, including Barrington Hills, Carpentersville, East Dundee, Elgin, Hoffman Estates, Palatine, Schaumburg, South Elgin, Wood Dale and Addison.
As of 8:45 a.m. Wednesday, nearly all precincts reported Krishnamoorthi as the winner over Libertarian challenger Preston Nelson with than 70 percent of the votes.
According to this publication, all four Indian-American Democratic lawmakers — Dr Ami Bera, Pramila Jayapal, Ro Khanna and Raja Krishnamoorthi — have been re-elected to the US House of Representatives.
A deluge of mail-in votes cast this election amid the coronavirus pandemic — many of which weren't counted Tuesday night, — makes this election unlike any in the past. Officials have two weeks post-election to count all provisional votes.
8th Congressional District results
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Krishnamoorthi, D-Schaumburg, was seeking his third term.
Krishnamoorthi's opponent, Nelson, is an inventor and entrepreneur. Although he has not previously been elected or appointed to office, Nelson has held jobs as a teacher and waiter, and he was a missionary in 2012. Nelson graduated in 2011 from Rend Lake College with an A.A.S in Information Technology.
It Could Be Weeks Until Illinois Knows Election Results
According to Nelson's Patch Candidate Questionnaire responses, the candidate said he only accepts donations from individuals, not big companies like his opponent, and believes the single most pressing issue we face is premature death.
"There are two largely preventable categories: War, and Disease," Nelson said.
More: Illinois Election 2020
When asked to describe other issues that define his campaign platform, Nelson said, "Representing real people is the most important issue. Billionaire corporations and political donors receive too much attention from Congress. Most all of our issues are rooted in this, from never-ending wars, to subsidies for unhealthy food. Inflation is another huge issue."
When asked in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency), Nelson said Krishnamoorthi is the spearhead of an effort to ban vaping, has not endorsed or cosponsored the Justice for Breonna Taylor Act, nor the Ending Qualified Immunity Act, and "has declined to even listen to the mayor of a city he represents in the 8th district.
"The mayor claims that members of his community were affected by asbestos at the headquarters of a certain large corporation," Nelson continued. "Asbestos was then illegally dumped within Rolling Meadows. This corporation also donates thousands of dollars to Raja's reelection campaigns. This is an ongoing investigation."
In addition, Nelson said Raja has "failed to make progress for DACA and DREAMERS." In addition, Nelson claimed that when given the opportunity to vote to bring our soldiers home, Raja voted against the opportunity to bring soldiers home and instead to prolong deployments to Syria.
When asked what accomplishment would make his term in office as a success should he win this position, Nelson said he would "like to protect and enforce real democracy by mandating equal ballot access to all political parties and independents, as well as equal access to debates."
In light of the coronavirus pandemic and the surge in Black Lives Matter protests, Patch updated the questionnaire candidates have filled out in the past to include three additional questions. Krishnamoorthi and his team have not answered those questions.
Read more, including Nelson's response when asked whether he supports Black Lives Matter, the campaign to "defund" the police, and more: Patch Candidate Q&A: Preston Nelson, 8th Congressional District.
Related:
Patch Candidate Q&A: Preston Nelson, 8th Congressional District
Raja Krishnamoorthi, 8th Congressional District Questionnaire
This article originally appeared on the Palatine Patch