SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Incumbent Democratic Congressman Eric Sorensen has defeated retired judge and Republican challenger Joe McGraw in the race for Illinois’ 17th Congressional District.
Sorensen was declared the winner at 3:53 a.m. CT Wednesday with 80% of precincts reporting. Here's the updated District 17 county-by-county breakdown.
"For two decades as your local meteorologist, it was my job to keep you safe and prepared for what was ahead, and that’s what I’m doing in Congress. Over the past two years, I’ve set out to make sure our community has a trusted neighbor serving them in Congress. Over this campaign, we've traveled to every corner of Illinois’ 17th District, meeting with neighbors and showing our work to make our community safer, healthier, and more affordable.
“Now, it’s about coming together to do what’s best for all of us and I am proud to be the good neighbor to represent you! We have a lot of challenges and hard work ahead of us, but I can tell you the sun will rise tomorrow morning and our forecast is bright.”
This will be Sorensen’s second term after winning the 2022 race and assuming office in 2023. Sorensen won the 17th District with just under 52% of the vote over Republican Esther Joy King in 2022.
Sorensen serves on the House Agriculture Committee and the Science, Space and Technology Committee. He previously worked as a meteorologist in Rockford, Illinois, and at WQAD News 8 in Moline.
Sorensen describes himself as the only meteorologist currently serving in Congress, something he says lends him credibility when talking with Republicans about issues such as climate change. In public appearances, he often begins by telling his audience, “As a kid, all I ever wanted to be was the weatherman on Channel 13 in Rockford, Illinois.”
Speaking to his fellow Illinois Democrats at a breakfast meeting during the party’s national convention in Chicago in August, Sorensen also described himself as “the first out LGBTQ member of Congress in Illinois' history.” He says he supports reproductive rights and codifying Roe v. Wade, the recently overturned 1973 Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion nationwide.
________________
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.