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Democrat Patty García secured her party’s nomination for Illinois’ 4th Congressional District after a controversial last minute decision The decision of her former boss, incumbent MP Jesús “Chuy” García, not to run for re-election allowed her to run unopposed.
A heavily Hispanic district in Chicago and its suburbsIllinois’ 4th Congressional District is considered one of the deepest blue House districts in the country, giving García a significant advantage in November’s general election.
Having served on Rep. García’s staff since his election in 2019, she is widely considered his hand-picked successor. The two have nothing to do with each other. Representative García sparked controversy last fall when he announced two days after the deadline that he would not run for re-election. The maneuver left only García on the ballot, forcing progressive candidates Byron Sigcho-Lopez and Mayra Macías to run as independents.
U.S. Congressman Jesus “Chuy” Garcia (IL-04) speaks during a press conference after being denied entry into an ICE facility on June 18, 2025 in Broadview, Illinois. (Octavio Jones/Reuters)
Critics called the maneuver an unfair attempt by Rep. García to tip the scales in the next elections in his district. The House later passed one Resolution of disapproval against him, led by her Democratic colleague Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash. Nearly two dozen House Democrats defied Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and voted for the rebuke.
The measure passed by a vote of 236-183, with 23 Democrats joining Republicans in rebuking Rep. García. Four lawmakers voted “present” — Reps. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., Suhas Subramanyam, D-Va., and Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio.
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Rep. Marie Glusenkamp Perez forced a vote on reprimanding her Democratic colleague in the House, Jesus “Chuy” Garcia. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images; Jonathan Gibby/Getty Images)
García is a Chicago native and longtime Democratic political strategist who has served as Rep. García’s chief of staff since 2023. She runs a progressive platform that closely reflects her boss’s priorities, is pro-union, and is a vocal opponent of the president Donald Trump.
Her campaign website says immigration enforcement is “used to terrorize working-class communities.” She has promised to work to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the United States. Her website states: “Patty has confronted abusive tactics head-on and will fight for dignity, due process and the abolition of ICE so families can live without fear.”
The District 4 general election will be a clash of progressives. Sigcho-Lopez is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, a socialist political group that has seen a surge in American politics with the election of figures such as New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Guaranteed income advocates in Illinois are pushing for a permanent statewide cash handout program
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks during a news conference on Tuesday, January 27, 2026, in New York City. (Yuki Iwamura/AP)
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Meanwhile, Macías explains on her campaign website that she is running for Congress “because everything she fought for is being rolled back and the community that raised her is directly targeted by the Trump administration.”
Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind and Leo Briceno contributed to this report.
