Dupage Policy Journal

On April 21, Illinois Rising posted a short clip of Democratic Rep. Sean Casten (IL-06) that seems to imply those who did not vote for his party and Hillary Clinton are bad people.

“We won in 2018 for the same reason that we won in 2016. The majority of the people in the country are good. The majority of people voted for Hillary Clinton. The majority of the people flipped the House in 2018,” said Casten in a 16-second Facebook live clip.

This is not the first time Casten has been accused of questionable actions. His challenger in the 2020 race for Illinois' 6th congressional district, Republican candidate Jeanne Ives, has raised issues with Casten’s actions and conduct several times.

In December 2019, she told the DuPage Policy Journal that Casten did not have his constituents' best interests at heart.

“Sean Casten has spent his three years in office on crusades against the 2016 election results, the Industrial Revolution, religious liberty, private health insurance, and general decency,” said Ives. “He is a representative of the most extreme elements of the House Democratic Caucus rather than the people who sent him to DC to represent their interests. Today, Sean Casten voted to take away your vote. In 2020, take away his vote in Congress. The 6th District doesn’t need to be ruled. We need to be represented.”

On April 30, Ives also expressed umbrage regarding Casten's silence in the face of sexual assault allegations against former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic candidate for president.

“Sean Casten hyped the credibility of every allegation against Judge Kavanaugh. Now, Casten’s own party seeks to undermine Tara Reade’s credibility. And he has said nothing,” Ives said. “Casten’s silence is hypocritical. In his view, Republicans are 'guilty until proven innocent.'”

Illinois Rising is part of the America Rising PAC. Dubbed "the unofficial research arm of the Republican party" by the Wall Street Journal, America Rising says its purpose is exposing "the truth about Democrats through video tracking, research, and strategic communications" and taking "action to hold them accountable."