West Suburban Illinois DSA (WSILDSA) has elected to give recommendations in upcoming Democratic Primary races. All the races we have given light below have at least two people running. There are not too many primaries unfortunately, but hopefully some of the allies we’ve found can get to office and fight for socialist (and aligned) causes!

All candidates highlighted are pro-palestine, all are pro medicare for all, and, according to research by the Electoral Working Group for WSILDSA up to Jan. 2026, are worth our support in the primary to, at minimum, turn the Democratic Party more left.

Federal Senate

Bryan Maxwell

Bryan Maxwell is focused on Illinois and the workers here, fighting for the working class, and fighting against sending money to foreign wars and the donor class. He is pro medicare for all, wants more progressive revenue streams, and wants to fight the billionaire class for the betterment of the working class. He is ideologically our strongest alignment in the group running for Senate. Like us, he is disillusioned with current democratic leadership and wishes it to change. He has spoken at our chapter events in the past seeking support, and we believe he deserves it.

Federal House Races

Illinois Federal House District 3

Delia Ramirez

Delia Ramirez is firmly against arming Israel, was a co-sponsor of the Green New Deal, and is a strong ally of most of our values as a congressperson in our district. Although not specifically a socialist, she is better than her opponent, who appears to be a pro-police moderate. She is the current incumbent, and has consistently fought for a more left United States.

Illinois Federal House District 5

Matt Conroy

Matt Conroy recognizes that our system is broken, and proposes some strong ideas to help begin to fix it. He proposes reform in the government, such as an end to individual stock trading for congress. He is for multiple forms of progressive taxation to fight back against billionaires and the oligarchy. With those funds, he wants to invest in the common worker by providing medicare for all, tuition reform, social security funding increases, and addressing the climate crisis. He is running against four others in this race, including incumbent Mike Quigley.

Illinois Federal House District 6

Joey Ruzevich

In September, members of the West Suburban Illinois DSA voted to endorse Joey Ruzevich for IL-06. We believe he will fight for the changes the working class desperately need like universal healthcare, a living wage, immigration reform, and an end to genocide and war. Joey is an ally of the working class and his target is the same as ours, the people at the top of Wall Street robbing us every single day. He is running against incumbent Sean Casten.

Illinois Federal House District 8

Junaid Ahmed

Junaid Ahmed is a husband, father of four, DePaul graduate, immigrant, and proud Illinoisan who has given back to his community throughout his life. During the pandemic, he founded the non-profit Chi-Care to deliver hot meals and supplies to our unhoused neighbors. Junaid Ahmed is a democratic socialist and when elected, he will fight against the current, crumbling system which enriches the top 1% at the cost of the working class. Junaid is committed to bringing down the cost of healthcare and work towards universal healthcare, to a comprehensive arms embargo of Israel, and to defending immigrant and queer communities from the Trump regime. We have endorsed Junaid Ahmed in this race too.

Illinois Federal House District 9

Bushra Amiwala

An attendee of our 9th District Forum, Bushra set her focus on making sure our communities are inclusive for all, our education systems are reworked to be tuition-free, and fighting for economic justice. She showed up in front of socialist banners proudly, and said she embraced our cause as one of the antidotes to the problems we are facing. We heartily suggest voting for her in the primary as someone who embraces the local left causes and will fight for them.

Illinois Federal House District 10

Morgon Coghill

Morgon Coghill is a left ally running in a primary against the incumbent Brad Schneider. Morgon seems to be a strong ally of the working class, taking no PAC money, and has a variety of left leaning endorsements, such as Lake County Greens, The Justice Coalition, and Citizens Against AIPAC. He backs progressive policies, such as medicare for all, the abolishment of ICE, and an even stronger Green New Deal.

State House Races

Illinois State House District 42

Lynn LaPlante

Lynn LaPlante is an ally of ours, attending many of the same events and protests, and a proud union member. She is staunchly anti-palestinian genocide, has multiple union endorsements, and has a long history of fighting for and supporting lower income people in her area with her organizaing skills. She has one opponent.

Illinois State House District 84

Saba Haider

Saba Haider is a DuPage County Board Member and advocate for local, sustainable, environmentally friendly development in her district. She appears to be an ally of ours, supporting strong environmental protection and equitable development for communities who need it most. She has endorsements from our allies too, such as Nabela Syed and Rachel Ventura, as well as two separate union endorsements. She has one opponent.

County Board District Races

DuPage County Board District 2

Mahnoor Ahmad

Mahnoor Ahmad is a proud democratic socialist and ally in the fight against the establishment. In the past, she took the fight to Sean Casten. Although not successful, she has not given up fighting for her community against those forces and is now running for DuPage County Board District 2. Her main focuses are reducing the cost of living pressure on our working class fellows, as well as infrastructure that focuses on protecting us from and preventing the effects of climate change, especially related to flooding in her district. Our chapter has also endorsed Mahnoor in this race.