Illinois Rep. Lauren Underwood said Monday she will forgo a Senate run to succeed Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin and will stay in the House instead.
“When I reflected on the way that I could best serve families in Illinois and around the country, I really decided to stay in the House of Representatives,” the Democrat said Monday on CNN. Nodding to her leadership position, she said she’d seek to “help the DCCC as we seek to reclaim the majority.”
Underwood, who flipped a GOP-held seat in the Chicago suburbs in 2018 that’s since grown bluer through redistricting, currently serves a co-chair of the House Democratic Caucus’ messaging arm.
Some polling from Underwood-allied groups showed her leading the potential Senate field, though she would have faced a fierce primary race that already includes two of her House colleagues, Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi and Robin Kelly, as well as Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, who’s running with Gov. JB Pritzker’s political and financial support.
Despite reports that Pritzker had tried to stop Underwood’s Senate run, she denied any involvement by the governor.
“Well, I didn’t speak to the governor, and I don’t need to speak with him. But what I do know is that kind of ugliness has no place in our politics. I know that Illinois voters are going to decide this election. Illinois voters can’t be bought,” she said.
