Democrats Look to Pull Upset in Kankakee-area House District
Rep. Jackie Haas (R-Bourbonnais) and Democratic opponent Billy Morgan.
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Rep. Jackie Haas (R-Bourbonnais) walks out of a Kankakee-area coffee shop Friday afternoon between a constituent meeting and heading out to knock on doors with four days before the November 5 election.
“Hey! Jackie Haas!” a voice from a car slowing in the parking lot shouts in her direction.
Haas and the motorist spend a few minutes talking about a community issue before he drives off leaving Haas to get back to the campaign trail.
“I think I’ve done good work,” Haas says. I think my record speaks for itself. Not only my legislative record, but my career in the community. And I think people have been able to see that. They see my character and I think people are comfortable with that.”
With Democrats gunning for her, Haas used the oft-used “cautiously optimistic” term to describe her feelings with a few days to go.
“I’m optimistic,” Haas, who is seeking her third term in the House, said. “We’re hearing good things at the doors. People have been very supportive and optimistic as well. We’re out in the field working every day and talking to voters every day and getting our message out there.”
Meanwhile, across town near downtown Kankakee, her opponent, Democrat Billy Morgan sits down for lunch after pounding the pavement in Kankakee through the morning and midday.
“I feel good,” Morgan says, munching on his veggie wrap. “I view this as shoe leather democracy,” stealing a line from his former boss, Gov. Pat Quinn.
He’s been focusing his days on door knocking and contacting voters, which he says is the key to pulling an upset.
“This is a district where you have to talk to everybody. You have to meet voters where they are,” Morgan said. “If you’ve got a strong message on economic issues, that’s where most people are at right now.”
Morgan reportedly received internal pushback when he told The Illinoize this fall he would have voted against the Democratic budget in May, a position he reiterated on Friday.
“None of us make our best decisions at 4 AM,” he said, referring to when Democrats barely passed a business tax increase at 4:30 AM in May. “The legislature needs to have a much better process in the future to figure out where our state money is going.”
House Democrats have not spent as heavily on Morgan’s behalf as they have in other potential pickup districts around the state, but Morgan says he believes they have the resources to win.
“What needs to happen is for people to do their homework on the candidates,” he said. “Take a look at my opponent and her record and what I’ve done in my career and in my life and make a decision about what actually effects their pocketbook and what values they want to [send] to Springfield.”
House Republicans have spent little in the district as well, but Haas remains confident.
“We have to have people get out and vote,” she said. “Don’t be complacent. Every vote counts.”
Haas beat her less funded and less organized Democratic challenger by 16 points two years ago, but Donald Trump won the district by less than a point in 2020.
Both sides expect a close race Tuesday night.
Read our previous update on the race here.
