Illinois — 6th District

Sean Casten

Supports aggressive climate action and clean energy

Casten views climate change as an existential threat and his top legislative priority. Having co-authored the report that formed the basis of the Inflation Reduction Act, he advocates for passing the Clean Electricity and Transmission Acceleration Act to modernize the electric grid and restore clean energy incentives.

• Co-authored legislation behind the Inflation Reduction Act while serving on the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis
• Introduced the Clean Electricity and Transmission Acceleration Act with Rep. Mike Levin to debottleneck the electric grid
• Pledges to restore clean energy deployment incentives repealed by the Republican Congress

“We must address climate change and remove the barriers to cheap, clean energy deployment.”

“Climate change remains the existential threat to our species and addressing this crisis remains my top priority in Congress.”

Niki Conforti

Opposes energy taxes and utility rate hikes

Conforti, a professional energy consultant, argues that high-tax agendas and green energy policies create unaffordable utility rates for Illinois residents. She opposes government spending and policies that drive up energy prices for households.

• Opposes federal high-tax policies that increase home utility rates
• Leverages experience as an energy consultant to critique current rate burdens on consumers

“Congress pursuing a high tax agenda, coupled with policies that will create even higher utility rates, would make Illinois even less affordable.”

Sean Casten

Supports middle-class growth and targeted investments

Casten focuses on creating an economy that works for everyone by protecting GDP growth, lower costs, and job creation. He criticizes Trump-era unpredictable tariffs and rule-of-law weakening for stalling economic progress.

• Supports harnessing markets through ethical government oversight to expand opportunity
• Opposes unpredictable tariffs that disrupt trade and stall growth
• Promotes federal investments in infrastructure and job creation

“We need to ensure an economy that works for everyone. At the end of Biden’s administration, GDP was growing, job creation was surging, unemployment was low, and prices were coming down.”

Niki Conforti

Opposes debt ceiling increases and tax hikes

Conforti advocates for strict fiscal discipline by opposing debt ceiling increases and enacting federal spending caps. She pledges to stop tax increases on working families and small businesses, while promoting tariffs to bring manufacturing back.

• Opposes raising the national debt ceiling to curb federal spending
• Pushes for spending caps and relief from high interest rates and tax hikes
• Supports tariffs to bring back manufacturing jobs to Illinois
• Advocates for expanding workforce training and removing regulations on small businesses

“I am opposed to raising the Debt Ceiling. It will only add to the already enormous burden we are placing on our children and grandchildren.”

“I will work to curb the spending in WDC and stop tax increases on working families.”

Sean Casten

Supports unrestricted federal abortion access

Casten is 100% pro-choice without exception and considers reproductive freedom a fundamental right. He co-sponsored and helped pass the Women's Health Protection Act in the House and advocates ending the Senate filibuster to codify abortion rights nationwide.

• Co-sponsored and helped pass the Women's Health Protection Act in the House
• Supports eliminating or modifying the Senate filibuster to codify abortion rights into federal law
• Opposes state-level restrictions on reproductive healthcare access

“I am 100% pro-choice without exception, and I’m running to ensure women have the right to make their own health care decisions no matter the state they are in.”

Niki Conforti

Opposes abortion except in limited cases

Conforti is pro-life with exceptions for rape, incest, and saving the life of the mother. She strongly criticizes Democrats' reproductive policies and opposes taxpayer funding or late-term abortions.

• Supports pro-life legislation with exceptions for rape, incest, and the life of the mother
• Opposes taxpayer funding for abortions and late-term abortion procedures

“I am proudly Pro-Life with exception (Rape, Incest and the Life of the Mother), and I oppose the Democrats’ radical abortion agenda.”

“Sean Casten’s support for taxpayer funded and late term abortions is despicable and is directly in opposition with the values of his constituents.”

Sean Casten

Supports comprehensive reform and agency oversight

Casten supports immigration reform while demanding accountability and ethical compliance from enforcement agencies. He proposes leveraging congressional power of the purse to condition funding for agencies like ICE on adherence to the rule of law.

• Supports comprehensive immigration reform measures
• Advocates using congressional power of the purse to hold ICE accountable to ethics and rule of law standards

“...and use our power of the purse to withhold funding for those who refuse to comply with ethics and the rule of law - from ICE to the Supreme Court.”

Niki Conforti

Supports border wall construction and mass deportations

Conforti calls illegal immigration a national crisis that drains local public resources and increases crime. She supports expanding ICE, constructing the southern border wall, enforcing stronger penalties for fentanyl trafficking, and deporting violent criminals.

• Supports continuing construction of the southern border wall and enforcing border laws
• Calls for expanding ICE and deporting migrants who commit crimes
• Opposes sanctuary state policies and taxpayer benefits for illegal immigrants
• Demands stronger penalties and specialized task forces for fentanyl trafficking

“The influx of millions of illegals is draining our resources and making our communities less safe – putting us all at risk.”

“I support expanding ICE and deporting violent criminals.”

Sean Casten

Supports universal healthcare and public options

Casten advocates for universal healthcare by strengthening the Affordable Care Act and creating a taxpayer-funded, means-tested base coverage plan. He supports allowing all Americans to buy into Medicare and empowering Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices.

• Supports a public option and allowing individuals to buy into Medicare
• Proposes a taxpayer-funded, means-tested base healthcare coverage plan
• Supports legislation allowing Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices

“...we must insist on true, universal health care. Not just the kind where anyone can go to the emergency room, but the kind that our allies and trading partners have...”

Niki Conforti

Supports free-market healthcare and ACA reform

Drawing on her experience in healthcare administration, Conforti criticizes the Affordable Care Act as an expensive failure. She advocates for market competition, billing transparency, and allowing consumers to purchase insurance policies across state lines.

• Pushes for billing transparency to foster competition among health systems
• Supports allowing insurance policies to be sold across state lines
• Advocates for giving families greater flexibility and choices in coverage options

“Obamacare has been a disaster for Illinois. Many counties only have two options for consumers, and our healthcare costs have only gone up over the last decade.”

Sean Casten

Supports strict gun control restrictions

Casten views gun violence as a pressing national crisis resulting from overly broad judicial interpretations of the Second Amendment. He advocates for banning assault weapons and restricting firearm access for domestic violence offenders.

• Supports a federal ban on assault weapons
• Proposes barring individuals with a history of domestic violence from owning firearms
• Advocates for returning to a narrower, originalist interpretation of the Second Amendment

“Our country has too many guns and too many gun deaths. Both are the direct result of courts that have taken a wildly excessive and expansive interpretation of the 2nd Amendment.”

Niki Conforti

Supports Second Amendment firearm rights

Conforti is a staunch defender of Second Amendment rights, pledging to protect citizens' right to bear arms from federal restrictions.

• Pledges to protect individual constitutional rights to bear arms
• Opposes federal restrictions on gun ownership

“I am Pro – 2nd Amendment and believe we must protect our right to bear arms.”

Sean Casten

Supports police reform and accountability

Casten supports criminal justice reform and police accountability while ensuring public safety. He advocates for structural good-government oversight across law enforcement and justice institutions.

• Supports police procedural reforms and accountability measures
• Advocates using federal oversight to enforce rule-of-law compliance

“...use our power of the purse to withhold funding for those who refuse to comply with ethics and the rule of law...”

Niki Conforti

Supports law enforcement and cash bail

Conforti strongly opposes the Illinois SAFE-T Act and ending cash bail, arguing that releasing violent felons has increased crime. She opposes defunding police departments and supports improved training and recruitment funding for law enforcement.

• Opposes the SAFE-T Act and releasing violent felons on their own recognizance
• Opposes 'defund the police' initiatives and attacks on law enforcement
• Supports improved police training, procedural improvements, and recruitment funding

“The Safe-T Act has been detrimental to the safety of our communities. We are less safe and violent crime has been on the rise.”

Sean Casten

Supports voting expansion and ethics reform

Casten focuses on protecting democratic norms from executive overreach through strong congressional oversight and structural reform. He advocates for automatic voter registration, restoring the Voting Rights Act, ending gerrymandering, overturning Citizens United, moving federal elections to weekends, and lowering the voting age to 16.

• Supports a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United and increase campaign finance transparency
• Advocates for automatic voter registration and restoring the Voting Rights Act
• Supports non-partisan redistricting and restoring voting rights to non-violent felons
• Proposes moving Election Day to weekends and lowering the federal voting age to 16

“We must protect our democracy from the harm caused by the Trump administration.”

Niki Conforti

Supports strict voter ID requirements

Conforti advocates for strict voter identification laws to ensure election security. She also advocates for reducing federal funding for the FBI and Department of Justice to address what she describes as a weaponized justice system.

• Pushes for mandatory photo ID requirements at polling locations
• Proposes requiring three forms of identification to register to vote
• Advocates cutting funding for the FBI and DOJ to de-weaponize federal law enforcement

“We need a photo ID to buy cough syrup and to get on an airplane—we should need a photo ID to vote.”

Sean Casten

Supports public education and student loan relief

Casten advocates for significant expansion of universal early childhood education and public school funding. He opposes directing public funds to private school vouchers, supports refinancing student loans, and advocates for overhauling bankruptcy rules for student debt.

• Supports expansion of universal early childhood education
• Opposes school vouchers that divert public funds to private schools
• Supports allowing student loan holders to refinance at current interest rates and reforming bankruptcy discharge rules
• Advocates for civics education and increased STEM program funding

“Our most fundamental responsibility as a nation is to provide a world-class education for every child, regardless of race, religion, economic status, or zip code.”

Niki Conforti

Supports parental rights and traditional curriculum

Conforti focuses on restoring traditional scholastics (reading, writing, arithmetic) and advancing students based on academic aptitude rather than race. She pledges to protect parental rights, end the sexualization of children in schools, and eliminate ideological opinion from school curricula.

• Demands refocusing curricula on foundational reading, writing, and arithmetic
• Supports advancing students based on aptitude rather than race
• Pledges to protect parental rights and end ideological sexualization in schools
• Supports gifted and special needs education programs

“It is time to get back to scholastics – reading, writing and arithmetic.”

“We must end the sexualization of our kids and protect parental rights.”

Niki Conforti

Supports technology funding and emerging tech

Conforti advocates for federal R&D funding for national defense and economic development, seeking to position America as an innovation hub for AI, cryptocurrency, and blockchain technology.

• Supports federal funding for critical technology R&D
• Promotes tax incentives and regulatory frameworks for AI, crypto, and blockchain innovation

“If elected, I will work hard to ensure America remains a hub of technological innovation, especially in emerging areas such as blockchain technology, cryptocurrency, and Artificial Intelligence.”

Sean Casten

Supports VA funding and modernization

Casten advocates for filling 30,000 VA medical vacancies, modernizing record-keeping systems, and expanding mental health resources. He opposes privatizing VA healthcare and supports expanding job training programs and benefits for veterans and female service members.

• Supports filling 30,000 vacant medical roles at the VA
• Opposes privatization of the VA healthcare system
• Supports the Deborah Samson Act to expand healthcare and peer counseling for female veterans
• Advocates fully funding the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill and expanding job placement services

“At our best, our country should see veterans as a resource. They have already proven their mettle and commitment.”