How would Krishnamoorthi, Ahmed operate if Democrats lose House majority?
The Democratic rivals in the 8th Congressional District recently discussed how their party might avoid losing its majority in the U.S. House in November, and how effective they could be as a member of the minority party.
Incumbent Raja Krishnamoorthi of Schaumburg and challenger Junaid Ahmed of South Barrington are vying for the Democratic nomination in the June 28 primary.
Ahmed said that whatever the overall makeup of the House, each representative's job to serve the people of his or her district remains the same.
"Having that communication open with your constituency, not representing the corporations, special interests, but the people of the district," he said.
"If we are in the minority, I think what we do is continue to have the dialogue with the other side," Ahmed added. "Try to find partners who may be willing to work with us. Not everybody on that side of the fence may be able to be that partner, but I think as a minority we should be able to build those bridges, find those partners who can stand up with us in making things happen."
Krishnamoorthi also spoke to the importance of bipartisan efforts, but he believes Democrats still have an avenue to avoid losing their majority.
"I think the challenge there is twofold," he said. "One is we have to fight inflation. Inflation is real, it's present, it's at the gas pump, it's everywhere right now. And we have to do everything in our power to rein back prices."
Krishnamoorthi said that while he believes the war in Ukraine and the pandemic to be contributing factors, there are three specific things already in progress that can curb energy prices: investigating potential price gouging, continuing to release petroleum from strategic reserves, and transitioning to a green economy.
He cited the last method in particular as one of the ways he's seen successful bipartisanship in Congress. Others are in efforts he's led with Republicans on workforce development issues and in the fighting youth vaping.
"Third, I'm working with Republicans to ban individual stock trading by members of Congress," Krishnamoorthi said. "It corrodes trust in the institution, and I'm going to work on that issue regardless of whether I'm in the majority or minority."
Ahmed and Krishnamoorthi are scheduled to meet in person at a League of Women Voters candidates forum at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Gail Borden Library, 270 N. Grove Ave. in Elgin.
The event will be open to the public and livestreamed and recorded for later viewing.
For more information about the forum, visit the organization's website at lwvelginarea.org or the Gail Borden Library website at gailborden.info.
Carol Grom, voter service chair of the league, said a similar forum was planned for Republicans but was canceled because only one of five candidates committed to attend. Chris Dargis of Palatine, Karen Kolodziej of Itasca, Chad Koppie of Gilberts, Peter Kopsaftis of South Barrington, and Phillip Owen Wood of Carol Stream make up the GOP primary field.
Though the 8th District's borders are shifting for the 2022 elections, it will remain roughly centered in Schaumburg and include areas of northwest Cook, northeast DuPage and northeast Kane counties.