1 day Ago By BRENDEN MOORE [email protected]
Sorensen SPRINGFIELD — After two weeks of having the central and northwestern Illinois airwaves to himself, Democratic Rep. Eric Sorensen, D-Moline, has some competition for his district's eyes and ears. Retired Judge Joe McGraw, Sorensen's Republican challenger in Illinois' 17th Congressional District, , honing in on the issue of crime while casting himself as the law-and-order candidate in the race.
It is McGraw's opening salvo in a congressional district that was hotly contested by Republicans two years ago and represents their best opportunity to flip a seat in Illinois. The party currently holds just three of the state's 18 congressional districts. Sorensen, who won his first term by four percentage points in 2022, debuted earlier in September.
Leaning into Sorensen's earlier career as a meteorologist, it highlights efforts to deliver funds "to clean up our drinking water" and for police training as well as fighting for abortion rights. McGraw's ad, which will appear on television and digital platforms in the Rockford, Quad-Cities and Peoria/Bloomington-Normal media markets, starts by featuring pictures of New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with a voiceover stating that "Washington politicians coddle criminals and blame victims.
" The ad then alleges that "it's why crime is soaring in Illinois" while criminals are "released on cashless bail," the latter a reference to the Pretrial Fairness Act, a provision in the larger SAFE-T Act that eliminated cash bail in Illinois. The 2021 law was championed by Democrats while universally opposed by Republicans. Recent data compiled by Loyola University Chicago’s Center for Criminal Justice Research, however, showed that violent and property crime in Illinois decreased year-over-year from the first six months of 2023 to the first six months of 2024.
Cash bail was eliminated in Illinois on Sept. 18, 2023. The second half of the ad focuses on McGraw's criminal justice background, touting his endorsements from law enforcement officials and his record as a "tough on crime judge.
" McGraw served for two decades on the bench of the 17th Judicial Circuit, which covers Boone and Winnebago counties. It ends with a shot of McGraw riding his motorcycle. According to a Lee Enterprises analysis of Federal Communications Commission records, McGraw's campaign will spend nearly $127,000 on broadcast television ads between now and October 1.
This does not include funds spent on cable television, digital platforms or radio. At the same time, the National Republican Congressional Committee, the campaign arm for the House GOP, went up with , including his support for youth drag shows. The ad also alleges that Sorensen supports "exposing minors to life-altering sex changes.
" To tie Sorensen to the assertion, the NRCC linked to an article from the conservative Washington Free Beacon, which highlights the Democrat's support for The Project of the Quad Cities (TPQC), a health clinic that supports the LGBTQ+ community in his district. TPQC, , said that it was seeking donations to fund gender-affirming care for transgender and gender-diverse youth. There is no evidence that Sorensen spoke in support of the specific initiative.
Sorensen, however, has generally spoken in support of minors continuing to have access to gender-affirming care, which is permitted in Illinois with parental consent. More than two dozen states, mostly those controlled by Republicans, have banned or limited youth access to gender-affirming care, including Iowa. Sorensen is the first out LGBTQ+ member of Congress from Illinois.
"Eric Sorensen has been a trusted neighbor in our community his whole life, and no matter how much money the DC politicians backing Joe McGraw spend and how many lies they tell, he’ll keep fighting to lower costs, improve access to clean water, and bring home more funding for our local police," said Sorensen campaign manager Carter Elliot in a statement responding to the ad. NRCC spokesman Mike Marinella confirmed that no money was put behind the digital ad, which was posted on the group's YouTube page, but it's "being used to test these messages for potential future ads with money behind it." Federal records indicate that Sorensen's campaign, which began running ads two weeks ago, will have spent nearly $404,000 on broadcast television through September 24.
Records also show spending on cable television. The disparity in spending reflects Sorensen's massive cash advantage. As of the last quarterly campaign finance report, the incumbent Democrat had $2.
6 million cash on hand compared with McGraw's $475,443. The C-shaped district includes Bloomington-Normal, Peoria, the Illinois Quad-Cities and Rockford. It is easily the most competitive congressional district in the state.
A good neighbor looks out for his community. Watch our first ad and if you’re willing to help keep it on air, donate here: Republican groups spent more than $7 million to boost Republican candidate Esther Joy King in her unsuccessful campaign against Sorensen in 2022. But it is uncertain at this point whether the national party will devote similar resources to McGraw this time as they focus on higher-priority races in their quest to defend their extremely narrow House majority.
The non-partisan political handicapper Cook Political Report rates the race as "Lean Democrat." McGraw Contact Brenden Moore at Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter..
