In a crowded election, the front-runner typically is whoever the other candidates are targeting. In the Democratic primary for the 8th Congressional District, where incumbent Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi is leaving to run for U.S. Senate, the focus is on former U.S. Rep. Melissa Bean.

Opponents have attacked Bean in commercials, at forums and in private. Having previously held the seat from 2005 to 2011, she has name recognition and legislative experience.

But the political landscape has changed dramatically since Bean held the seat and then lost it to Republican Joe Walsh in a Tea Party upset, a defeat she blames on her vote for the Affordable Care Act, the health care plan known as Obamacare. Since then, Donald Trump has been elected president twice, and immigration and inflation have become critical battlegrounds.

The 8th District itself has changed substantially. When Bean defeated longtime incumbent Republican Phil Crane to take office, the district was farther north, mostly in parts of Lake and McHenry counties that were more conservative at the time. Since redistricting, the district now lies in parts of Cook, DuPage and Kane counties, stretching mainly along I-90 from Des Plaines to rural Gilberts, and along the Fox River from St. Charles to Carpentersville.

The 8th District has grown solidly Democratic and has become much more diverse, with the U.S. Census Bureau reporting that 55% of the population was white, 15% two or more races, 13% Asian, 11% some other race, and 5% Black. In addition, 27% identify as Hispanic, and 28% were born in another country.

That demographic shift is reflected in the eight-candidate field running in the Democratic primary on March 17, which includes white, Asian and Black candidates trying to differentiate themselves. Some have no political experience, like Neil Khot, while others ran for the seat before, like Junaid Ahmed, or are members of the Cook County Board, like Kevin Morrison, or a local municipal office, like Yasmeen Bankole. Others have worked with the federal government, like Dan Tully, Sanjyot Dunung and Ryan Vetticad.

Despite differences in experience and tone, most emphasize similar themes: lowering costs for families, expanding access to health care and abolishing Trump’s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, which they say repeatedly breaks the law while arresting undocumented immigrants. They differ on the details of how stop Trump.

Bean’s own polling, released in January, showed her in the lead with 10% of the vote, but with other candidates close behind and two-thirds of voters undecided, leaving the race wide open.

The amount of campaign funds raised by the leaders was also similar at the start of 2026. Bean led with $1.3 million, followed closely by Ahmed and Khot, each with about $1.2 million.

Bean — who has been endorsed by U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth and U.S. Reps. Bill Foster, Brad Schneider and Nancy Pelosi, — sounded a common theme in the race: “The American Dream is under assault, as are our American values,” she said. Speaking of Trump’s attacks on immigration, she said, “It’s dangerous and unconstitutional. I’m ready to deliver again and hold him to account.”

After Bean left office, she worked for JPMorgan Chase and Mesirow Financial. Ahmed, a progressive, has attacked Bean as “Wall Street’s favorite Democrat,” a reference to campaign contributions from the finance industry and to her opposition, while in office, to letting states override federal banking regulations. Bean argued that a national standard was necessary to let banks operate without conflicting laws.

But in responding to the criticism that she’s too tight with the nation’s monied interests, Bean argues that while she was in Congress following the 2008 financial crisis, she helped pass the Dodd-Frank Act, which was signed into law in 2010 and limited risky bank speculation and created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to regulate mortgages and credit cards.

Ahmed, who ran unsuccessfully against Krishnamoorthi in 2022, has countered that Bean is “out of touch.” A tech entrepreneur, Ahmed helped launch the nonprofit Chi-Care to deliver meals to the homeless. He boasts that he doesn’t take any corporate or PAC campaign contributions, and criticizes Bean for doing so.

With endorsements from U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, Ahmed has called for abolishing and replacing ICE as part of a broader immigration reform, supporting Medicare for all, and ending military aid to Israel due to its bombing and blockade of Gaza after the Hamas attack on Israel.

“Americans are realizing, we cannot be on the side of genocide,” he said. “I’ve yet to find someone who says, ‘I want my tax dollars to go to starve children.’”

Khot, who was endorsed by U.S. Rep. Danny Davis, said he’s running to fight for women’s rights, protect seniors and implement insurance reform, noting that his mother was denied coverage.

Born in India, Khot came to the United States 30 years ago with his parents, who emphasized education and respect for elders. Now, because immigration officers are asking people for citizenship identification, he carries a passport to show his identification, saying, “This is what we have come to in this country.”

“I’m looking to give back to the country that has given me everything,” he said.

Morrison, the first openly LGBTQ+ member of the Cook County Board, defeated the then-head of the Illinois Republican Party, Tim Schneider, in 2018. In office, Morrison helped create the county’s first Office of Behavioral Health, and he has called for lowering costs and protecting voting access and reproductive freedom.

He has endorsements from U.S. Reps. Jan Schakowsky and Mike Quigley.

“My generation feels like the American Dream is out of reach,” the 36-year-old said. “I’ll tackle the affordability crisis. I’ll always stand up for Main Street, not Wall Street … so we all have the ability to actually earn the American dream.”

Bankole was the youngest trustee ever elected to the Hanover Park Village Board, and helped create a water bill discount program there.

She cites her experience as an aide in Congress, having previously worked for Krishnamoorthi and U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, who has endorsed her candidacy. She’s calling for universal health care and child care, and abolishing ICE.

“We’re seeing the law broken time and again by ICE,” she said. “I believe in law and order, not violence and chaos.”

Dunung also came to the United States from India at a young age. She has a small education business, and served on the Truman Center for National Policy board. By taking care of her mother, who had muscular dystrophy, Dunung said she came to understand that disability care is a right, not a privilege.

She blamed both parties for failing to pass immigration reform, saying legal immigration must be streamlined and expedited.

“I’m tired of politics as usual, and I know that all of you are too,” she said at a League of Women Voters forum.

Tully was a judge advocate in the U.S. Army Reserve, and worked in the U.S. Department of Commerce, before resigning in protest of Trump, saying the president “betrayed the oath of office and is a danger to our country.”

Tully remains in the Army Reserve and argues that his legal experience makes him well-qualified to fight Trump’s challenge of the separation of powers and to reassert congressional authority. He has a 10-point plan to stop Trump, including reasserting Congress’ constitutional powers, and called for an elected U.S. attorney general to act as an independent check on the president.

“I have the experience to hold this administration accountable,” he said. “The president is acting outside the law.”

Vetticad, the youngest candidate in the race, is too young to serve in Congress, but he will turn 25, the minimum required age, just before the March 17 primary election.

He grew up in an immigrant, Catholic, Indian American family. He taught Sunday school and worked on counterterrorism in the Presidential Management Fellows Program for the U.S. Department of Justice, but resigned in protest of Trump’s policies.

He called for lowering property taxes, making groceries and health care affordable, banning Congress from trading stocks, and enacting gun safety laws.

“We need not just younger, but better voices in Congress,” he said.

The Republican primary features Mark Rice, who challenged Krishnamoorthi in 2024 but lost with 43% of the vote, tech entrepreneur Jennifer Davis, retired Chicago police Officer Herbert Hebein and accountant Kevin Ake, who was convicted of a hate crime in 2002 and previously ran unsuccessfully against Morrison.