IL-06: A conservative blog called the Illinois Review reports that former Lt. Gov. Evelyn Sanguinetti announced at a GOP event on Friday that she's "seriously thinking" that she'll run against freshman Democratic Rep. Sean Casten in the 6th Congressional District, and Rich Miller of the local tipsheet Capitol Fax offers confirmation, saying he "told subscribers about this a couple of weeks ago."
Sanguinetti, however, has only won one election on her own, for a position on the city council in the small city of Wheaton in 2011. Two years later, she was tapped by wealthy businessman Bruce Rauner to serve as his running-mate. The pair went on to narrowly win both the GOP primary and general election the following year, making Sanguinetti the first Latina to win statewide office in Illinois. But four years later, Rauner and Sanguinetti barely survived an underfunded primary challenge from the right, then got obliterated by a 55-39 margin amidst 2018's blue wave.
Somewhat surprisingly, Sanguinetti is the first candidate we've heard express interest in taking on Casten, whose district marched from 53-45 Romney to 50-43 Clinton but has always been traditionally Republican. What's more, despite the fact that Casten ousted GOP Rep. Peter Roskam by a 54-46 margin, the Rauner-Sanguinetti ticket carried the 6th District 50-45, according to analyst Miles Coleman.
Speaking of Roskam, Sanguinetti says she's spoken with his team and thinks it's "unlikely" the former congressman would attempt a comeback. However, we have yet to hear directly from Roskam or anyone associated with him.