CHICAGO — State Rep. La Shawn K. Ford defeated 12 candidates to secure the Democratic slot on November’s ballot for the 7th Congressional District.
The district saw a flood of Democratic candidates enter the race after Rep. Danny Davis announced his retirement last year. Davis, 84, was initially elected to the seat in 1996 and served 15 consecutive terms.
The Associated Press called the race for Ford about 9:45 p.m. Ford had 23.8 percent of the vote with 86 percent of votes counted, according to unofficial results.
Ford has been a member of the Illinois House of Representatives, representing the 8th district, since 2007. During a Feb. 12 forum, Ford said his first 100 days in office would focus on organizing progressive congressional districts and engaging directly with community groups to shape federal priorities. He also said he would work to protect older people by forming a task force to address economic and health concerns affecting them.
During his time in the state legislature, Ford has advocated for allowing hemp businesses to continue operating with regulations in place — a topic that has been hotly contested in Chicago’s City Council.
Ford was considered the favorite in the race, receiving an early endorsement from Davis and numerous Democratic colleagues in Springfield.
Ford was followed in the polls by Chicago Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin; Anthony Driver Jr., a union organizer and executive director of SEIU State Council; activist Kina Collins and emergency room doctor Thomas Fisher.
The 7th Congressional District is a Democratic stronghold that includes Chicago’s West Side and the suburbs of Bellwood, Forest Park, Oak Park, Maywood and Westchester. It has historically leaned to the Democrats.
Two Republicans also faced off to secure a spot on the November ballot. The Associated Press called that race for Chad Koppie, who had about 66 percent of the vote with 80 percent of votes in, according to unofficial results.
The general election is Nov. 3.
U.S. Rep. Danny Davis speaks during a fundraising luncheon at the Billy Goat Tavern near the United Center on day two of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024. State Rep. La Shawn Ford stands behind Davis. Credit: Talia Sprague/Block Club Chicago
For many, Davis has long represented a successful rebellion against Chicago’s Democratic political machine. During the peak of its power from the 1950s through the 1970s under Mayor Richard J. Daley, the Democratic Party was able to get most of its favored candidates elected at the local, state and federal levels.
In 1979, Davis successfully beat the Chicago machine’s “plantation politics” to become alderman of the 29th Ward. “Plantation politics” ran rampant on the West Side, with white machine bosses, often ward committeemen, dominating politics in predominantly Black wards. Davis was widely viewed as the first political independent elected on the West Side in the modern era.
At the time, the Tribune called Davis’ success an “immaculate conception,” saying he was “as close to representing the ideals of Dr. Martin Luther King as any recent candidate for any office on the West Side.”
Davis fought off nine other contenders in the 1996 primary for the 7th Congressional District before winning the general election that fall.
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