GOP makes political push in House races amid lawmaker controversies
[July 27, 2026]
By Sean Reed | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – Months out from the upcoming general election in
November, a number of races for the Illinois House of Representatives
are gaining momentum following multiple recent controversies involving
Democrat lawmakers.
The 97th district was previously held by Rep. Harry Benton,
D-Plainfield, who resigned this month after the conclusion of an
investigation into claims of sexual harassment made against him by a
former staffer and a lobbyist.
Benton’s replacement, Jessica Dixon Heitman, was appointed and sworn in
to serve the remainder of the term and is on the November midterm
ballot.
Heitman faces Republican candidate Gabby Shanahan, who narrowly lost to
Benton in the 2024 election for the seat.
The House Republican Organization ran ads against Reps. Katie Stuart,
D-Edwardsville, Suzanne M. Ness, D-Crystal Lake, Amy Briel, D-Ottowa,
and Justin Cochran, D-Des Plaines, in which they noted the lawmakers all
remained silent on the investigation into Benton.
Mark Carvers, political director of the House Republican Organization,
talked with The Center Square about the ads and their choice of
candidates they targeted.
“These are individual state representatives who have been elected and we
all look to for accountability and transparency and good governance,”
Carvers said. “And instead they've stood by for four or five months
while a cloud was over Harry Benton – while an investigation was
ongoing, and they have said nothing.”
Stuart and Ness are running against Republican candidates in November,
but won their races in the last House election by multiple thousands of
votes.
Briel narrowly defeated her Republican opponent, Liz Bishop, by 595
votes in the previous House election.
Republicans have recently created a mock-campaign website against Briel,
arguing her policies have brought higher living costs to the 76th
district.
Cochran was appointed this session to replace Rep. Martin J. Moylan,
D-Des Plaines, and is running for the seat for the first time. Moylan
ran unopposed in the previous election, but Cochran faces Republican
challenger Joseph Johnson, a sales consultant from the district.
Cochran commented on Benton’s conduct one day after the Republican ad
began running.
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The Illinois State Capitol is shown in Springfield. Photo: Greg
Bishop / The Center Square
“Moving forward requires rejecting the errors and omissions of the
past. Release the report,” Cochran said in a statement.
The Republican organization also began running an ad against Speaker
of the House Emanuel “Chris” Welch, in which they questioned Welch’s
ability to remain in his role after he allegedly delayed taking
action on complaints against Benton.
Another potentially tight race, which Republicans are making a push
for is downstate in the 104th district. Mary Catherine Roberson,
D-Danville, is running for the seat against Rep. Brandun Schweizer,
R-Danville, who is completing his first term this year.
Roberson previously lost the race in the district by 269 votes, but
against previous Rep. Mike Marron, who left office to accept a job
offer as CEO for Vermilion Advantage, a nonprofit in the district.
Carvers said an ad the organization is running against Roberson
intends to call into question her connection to Aaron Ammons, the
husband of Rep. Carol Ammons – both of whom were federally indicted.
“Mary has called Aaron Ammons a leader, someone she respects,
someone she stands with, someone she has worked in a partnership
with,” Carvers said. “Voters deserve to know whether she stands by
that. Is Aaron Ammons still a leader? Would she describe him, as the
feds do, as a criminal? What is Mary Catherine Robertson's view on
Aaron Ammons and his recent indictment?”
Roberson didn’t respond to The Center Square’s request for comment
before publication.
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