Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García of Illinois is expected to retire from Congress at the end of his term and is employing a clever succession plan to line up his chief of staff as his replacement.
He filed last month for reelection, but the Chicago Sun-Times reported that his top aide, Patty Garcia, had submitted paperwork Monday evening to launch a campaign for the seat — exactly at the deadline to file, which leaves no time for potential Democratic challengers to announce their own bids. Rep. García is then expected to pull his own campaign paperwork at a later date, the Sun-Times reports.
Rep. García filed his petition for reelection on Oct. 27, according to the Illinois State Board of Elections. His chief of staff, Patty Garcia, filed her petition for candidacy at 5 p.m. Monday, the exact deadline for petitions. The only other candidates are Republican Lupe Castillo, who filed at noon on Monday, and Working Class Party candidate Ed Hershey, who also filed Monday afternoon.