Democrat Patty Garcia won the crowded race Tuesday night to replace her former boss Jesus “Chuy” Garcia in the 4th Congressional District.
Garcia was running far ahead of Republican Lupe Castillo and independent candidate Chris Getty and Ed Hershey of the Working Class Party.
With 107 of 174 precincts reporting, Garcia had 30,898 votes compared to 9,405 for Castillo, 6,916 for Getty and 1,435 for Hershey.
“Tonight, the people of the Fourth District made history. From Little Village to Melrose Park, from Cicero to Elmhurst, voters chose to send the first woman ever to represent this district in Congress, and the first Mexican-American woman from the Midwest to serve in the U.S. House,” Garcia told supporters Tuesday night during a victory party at the Teamsters Local 743 Hall.
Garcia was a last-minute replacement for Rep. Garcia, who withdrew from the race on the last day of the filing period. She was his chief of staff, but they were not related.
Her last-minute filing was condemned by many observers and led Getty to throw his hat into the race as an independent. He is mayor of Lyons and supervisor of Lyons Township and has run as a Democrat in the past.
Asked about her candidacy, Garcia said she had less than 24 hours to decide whether to run after Chuy Garcia said he would not.
Garcia dismissed her opponents’ concerns over being the congressman’s hand-picked successor. She said she was able to make it on the ballot in a limited time thanks to 75 volunteers who gathered over 2,500 petition signatures.
“That speaks to the power of our organization and our movement to be able to motivate people to come out and give people a choice,” she said.
Getty called the move “election subversion.”
“This is taking the voice away from the people. This is not just Chris Getty saying this. The House of Representatives voted to censure Chuy Garcia and Patty Garcia for their actions,” Getty said. “She was forced to resign as his chief of staff.”
At a recent candidates’ forum, Garcia said she would abolish ICE, drawing a roar of approval from the audience. She said the money should go to what people care about and need.
“Not one more penny to ICE,” Garcia said. “ICE has received $175 billion. Think about what we can do with that money. Build housing. Send kids to school. Feed our seniors. Feed our neighbors.”
The 4th Congressional District goes as far north as Franklin Park, west as Oak Brook, east as Pilsen and south as Burbank. It includes Pilsen, Little Village, Back of the Yards, and most of the city’s Southwest Side as well as southwest suburbs such as Berwyn and Cicero. It is a longtime Democratic district.