Amid Personal Tragedy, Casten Wins Contentious Primary Over Marie Newman
Sean Casten with his wife, Kara, and their daughters, Gwen and Audrey, after speaking to his supporters following his election to Congress in 2018. Casten’s daughter, Gwen, died unexpectedly this month at 17. (Photo: Chicago Tribune)
In a contentious race that pitted incumbents against each other, Congressman Sean Casten (D-Downers Grove) took the Democratic nomination for Illinois’ 6th Congressional District Tuesday night.
Casten, who has held the seat since 2018, faced Congresswoman Marie Newman (D-LaGrange), who currently represents the 3rd district but was drawn out of her seat during redistricting after the 2020 census.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Casten had pulled in 68% of the vote, while Newman was at 29% with 95% of the expected vote in.
Prior to his election, Casten co-founded and led Recycled Energy Development, which focused on recycling wasted energy and converting energy facilities to cleaner, more economic uses. He has also served as president and CEO of Turbosteam Corporation.
Casten had suspended his campaign after his 17-year-old daughter, Gwen, died in her sleep earlier this month.
President Joe Biden won the district by 11 points in 2020, and Gov. Pritzker won it by 5 points in 2018. Casten will face Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau in the November election, who handily defeated Burr Ridge Mayor Gary Grasso in the GOP primary Tuesday.