Democratic voters select House candidates in Illinois after heated primaries

Primaries acted as test of the style of politics voters are looking for ahead of midterms, when Democrats hope to regain control of Congress Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox Democratic voters in Illinois handed the party’s nominations for five open seats in the House of Representatives to candidates that included Daniel Biss, Evanston’s mayor, and Donna Miller, the Cook county commissioner, after heated and at times bitter campaigns that saw significant spending by outside groups, most controversially the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac). The primaries acted as a test of the style of politics voters were looking for ahead of the midterm elections in November, when Democrats hope to regain control of Congress. All five districts are heavily Democratic, making the primary victors favorites to triumph in the general elections. Biss, the mayor of Evanston, Illinois, won the race to replace retiring longtime Representative Jan Schakowsky in Illinois’s ninth congressional district. The race in Chicago’s north suburbs was one of the most closely fought primaries, with 15 candidates vying for the nomination. The contest, which tu