❓WHAT HAPPENED: Representative Jesús “Chuy” García (D-IL) is not expected to continue his reelection bid for Illinois’ 4th Congressional District, leaving his chief of staff as the only other Democrat positioned on the ballot.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García, his chief of staff Patty Garcia, Republican Lupe Castillo, and Working Class Party candidate Ed Hershey.
📍WHEN & WHERE: Illinois’ 4th Congressional District; nominating petitions were filed by the October 30, 2025, deadline.
💬KEY QUOTE: “I think some of it is xenophobia,” García said last month when addressing concerns about former President Joe Biden’s policies affecting cities like Chicago.
🎯IMPACT: If García withdraws, Patty Garcia would be the only Democrat on the ballot in a heavily blue district, sparking criticisms of a “coronation” rather than a genuine open primary process.
Representative Jesús “Chuy” García (D-IL) appears to have colluded with his chief of staff and hand-picked successor, Patty Garcia, to prevent her from having to face any significant primary challenge. García is accused of announcing his re-election with no intention of actually seeing through the bid, instead allowing his anticipated campaign to clear the field for his chief of staff to file her own candidacy at the filing deadline. The maneuver has effectively closed off the primary field to any other Democrat candidates, and with García’s expected retirement, Patty Garcia will be the only candidate on the party’s primary ballot.
Patty Garcia filed her completed petitions to run in the Westside Chicago district at 5:00 PM on October 30, the deadline for entry. Meanwhile, her boss, Rep. García, had filed his own ballot petitions earlier this year—which effectively discouraged any potential candidates for the seat, especially those who would run in an open race. However, it is now being widely reported that Chuy García intends to withdraw his name from the primary contest and retire.
By pulling his petitions, Rep. Chuy García would effectively leave Patty Garcia, who is reportedly not a relative, as the only Democrat on the ballot in the 4th Congressional District. Critics are likening the decision to classic Chicago Democrat machine politics—depriving primary voters of any real choice on who should succeed the 69-year-old Democrat congressman. Patty Garcia will face off in the general election against Republican Lupe Castillo and Working Class Party candidate Ed Hershey, both of whom Chuy García easily defeated in the 2024 race.
García’s alignment with radical priorities has been documented extensively, including his involvement in a George Soros-linked “abolish ICE” initiative and his proposals to allow illegal immigrants to vote in certain Chicago elections. Patty Garcia, who became chief of staff in 2023 after serving as district director since 2019, has prior experience in candidate training programs for Latino and black policymakers.
Image by Charles Edward Miller.
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