Sean Casten

Sean Casten, the Downers Grove Democrat representing Illinois’ 6th Congressional District, appears to be heading back to Washington, D.C.

With 62% of votes counted, the Associated Press called the race for Casten at 9:37 p.m. Nov. 3.

Casten had 117,056 votes to 67,805 votes for Republican opponent, Niki Conforti, according to unofficial results.

Casten, a Downers Grove Democrat, has represented the 6th District since 2019. Before Congress, he spent 20 years in the private sector building clean energy power plants.

Deploying clean energy is the biggest opportunity to lower utility costs, Casten said, and the first bill he would file is the Energy Bills Relief Act, which he wrote with U.S. Rep. Mike Levin to bring down energy costs. The bill would restore Inflation Reduction Act incentives that were substantially repealed this term.

On food and housing costs, the most important near-term goal is to repeal President Donald Trump’s tariffs and immigration policies and to end the war in Iran, he said.

“I have dedicated my entire adult life to fighting climate change. It is the existential threat our species faces,” Casten said. “This isn’t especially complicated - raise the cost of raw materials, and you raise the price of the finished product,” he said.

Conforti, a Wheaton Republican, is an energy consultant who has served as an elected precinct committeeman.

Affordability is a critical issue, Conforti said during the primary, attributing the high cost of living to energy and healthcare and adding she intends to create legislation that helps “bend the cost curve.”

She would push for legislation that cuts regulations in the energy industry and limits the renewable energy component, which would make energy more resilient and affordable, she said.

On healthcare, she would push for more transparency in medical billing and more competition in the healthcare marketplace, she said, and consumers’ policies should be transportable across state lines.

“I am running because we need to curb the spending and stop the tax increases,” Conforti said during the primary. “Ironically they call it the Affordable Care Act, but it has been unaffordable for most Americans and small businesses,” she said during the primary.

Originally from the northwest suburbs, Emily K. Coleman is Shaw Media's editor for newsletters and engagement. She previously served as the Northwest Herald's editor and spent about seven years as a reporter with Shaw Media, first covering Dixon for Sauk Valley Media and then various communities within McHenry County from 2012 to 2016.