14TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT
The Democratic primary for the 14th district has seven contenders.
MATT BROLLEY
Matt is a civil engineer who works on land development, water and sewer projects, and was elected Mayor of the Village of Montgomery, where he grew up, in 2013. As Mayor, Matt convinced the village board to support a sales tax referendum to pay for more investments in roads and other infrastructure, and offset that with a 15% property tax rebate for at least five years. He invested in and improved the village’s water system, saved money by consolidating 911 operations regionally and added police officers.
DANIEL ROLDÁN-JOHNSON
Daniel Roldán-Johnson is currently a middle school social studies teacher. He was born in Southern Indiana and was the first member of his family to earn a high school diploma. Earlier in his career, he was an intelligence analyst at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement during the War on Terror, but then decided to transition into education and pursued a Masters degree from DePaul University in Chicago. While at DePaul, Daniel met his now-husband Christian, who is also in education.
VICTOR SWANSON
Victor Swanson joined the United States Navy after high school, earning the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal. After leaving the Navy, he studied social studies secondary education. He has been teaching at an area high school for the past 17 years. While teaching, he earned a Master’s Degree at Northern Illinois University in Curriculum and Instruction. Victor’s interest in politics started while growing up in Kendall County due to his grandmother’s involvement in local politics and an upbringing that emphasized public service. He currently resides in Batavia.
LAUREN UNDERWOOD
Lauren Underwood grew up and currently resides in Naperville, Illinois. She is a registered nurse who works with a Medicaid plan in Chicago to ensure that the plan provides high-quality, cost-efficient care.
Lauren is also a teacher, preparing future nurse practitioners through Georgetown University’s online master’s program. During the Obama administration, she was a Senior Advisor at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), where she helped communities across the country prevent, prepare for, and respond to disasters, bioterror threats and public health emergencies, and helped to implement the Affordable Care Act.
JIM WALZ
Jim Walz lives in Gurnee and works as an outside sales representative for a regional wholesale distributor. He serves as a school board member for Warren Township High School District #121. He convinced the school board to commit to support green energy initiatives, and worked to pass, by a substantial margin, an advisory question in his township calling for an amendment to overturn Citizens United. Jim previously ran for the 14th Congressional District in 2016, and won the Democratic Primary. Jim has served in various volunteer roles thoughout the community, including youth baseball coach, flood relief efforts, and supporting Gurnee Days Parade activities.
