Whoever wins this Republican primary likely will have a tough go of it in the November general election.
The districts flips frequently between Republican and Democratic representatives, but 2018 is predicted to be a strong Democratic year — what with the noxious Donald Trump in the White House — and that would favor the incumbent, Brad Schneider.
That said, if anybody can make this a competitive race, we believe, it is Jeremy Wynes. He is the kind of fiscally conservative but socially moderate Republican who has fared well in the district before.
Wynes, a Highland Park lawyer, spent nine years working for the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC; more recently, he has been the Midwest coordinator for the Republican Jewish Coalition. Wynes’ big rap on Schneider is that Schneider poses as a thoughtfully independent Democrat while voting rigidly along party lines.
Wynes says the Iran nuclear pact brokered by the Obama administration was a bad deal — dangerous for Israel and the cause of Middle East peace — and he says he would, as congressman, work to have it renegotiated.
Also running for the Republican nomination are Sapan Shah, a doctor and lawyer from Libertyville; and Douglas Bennett, a management and technical consultant from Deerfield who is more conservative on social issues such as abortion.
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Update: U.S. Rep Brad Schneider was not a member of Congress when Iran and a group of six nations led by the United States approved the 2015 nuclear pact.