Primary challenger to U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider now plans to run as a write-in following challenge to his nominating petition

Jan. 9--The Democratic candidate looking to challenge U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider in the upcoming primary election will continue his bid as a write-in candidate after, he said, the state elections board invalidated several hundred signatures on his nominating petition.

Adam Broad said Tuesday the decision from the Illinois State Board of Elections on Dec. 23 left him about 50 signatures short of the required number. He said he then had difficulty producing affadavits from petition signers during the busy holiday holiday week and submitting the documentation by the Dec. 30 deadline.

"We did not want to get tied up in the courts, and even producing affadavits would result in appeals," said Broad, who lives in Buffalo Grove and serves as a Vernon Township trustee. "We want to make sure our money gets spent educating voters about Medicare for All and the climate emergency."

Broad said he filed as a write-in candidate with the Lake County Clerk on Jan. 6 and will soon do the same in Cook County.

Illinois' 10th Congressional District spans large areas of central Lake County and runs along the North Shore, stretching from Winthrop Harbor to Mundelein and Deerfield, as well as smaller portions of northern Cook County, including Glencoe and Des Plaines.

In December, Broad had said he wanted to challenge Schneider, a three-term incumbent from Deerfield, and planned to focus his campaign around healthcare and his support for a single-payer health insurance system. The primary election is March 17.

Schneider now will be the only name appearing on the Democratic primary ballot. On the Republican side, first-time candidate Valerie Ramirez Mukherjee, of Winnetka, is running unopposed.

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