Rep. Jesus 'Chuy' Garcia won't seek reelection, leaves seat for chief of staff in move panned as 'coronation'
U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia will not seek reelection — leaving in place a succession plan for his chief of staff with a last-minute maneuver that critics likened to a coronation and a Chicago political machine play.
Garcia filed petitions with the Illinois State Board of Elections to run for his 4th Congressional District seat on Oct. 27, but his chief of staff, Patty Garcia, filed petitions ahead of 5 p.m. on Monday, the deadline for filing. Two sources confirmed Garcia's plan to step down. Garcia is expected to pull his petitions.
Garcia's decision is the latest to shake up Illinois politics this year, and there are now five open congressional seats and an open Senate race in the March 17 primary. Districts include the 2nd Congressional District, with U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly running for Sen. Dick Durbin’s seat; the 9th District, where longtime U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky announced her retirement; the 7th District, where U.S. Rep. Danny Davis also announced his retirement, and the 8th District, with U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi running for the Senate.
Garcia could not be reached for comment Monday. The decision comes as Illinois Democrats mull redistricting to create a 15th favorable district. Garcia’s move in his reliably blue district would keep it led by a Latina politician.
The controversial and last-minute decision drew some jeers, including from Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th), who challenged Garcia in last year’s election.
“Chuy coronates his Chief of Staff to replace him using same machine tactics that got him the seat from Luis Gutierrez, denies a true open primary like every other congressional district race but hey, #NoKings right? #Hypocrites,” Lopez wrote on social media.
Emmy Ruiz, who served as White House political director and special assistant to former President Joe Biden, called the move “disappointing” and a “coronation.”
"Rep. Garcia has been a fighter for our community, and yet how this final decision came down — with a coronation instead of an open primary between so many incredible leaders in this district is so disappointing," Ruiz wrote on X.
Lis Smith, Democratic political operative, wrote on X, "This is gross and why people hate politics. Chuy ran as a man of the people, but he’s acting like a cog in the machine."
Garcia, 69, has been a fixture in Chicago politics for four decades as an alderperson, Cook County commissioner, state senator and two-time mayoral candidate.
Garcia has represented the 4th Congressional District since 2018, after then-U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez surprised many in announcing his own retirement — and immediately endorsed Garcia, then a Cook County commissioner and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle's floor leader.
Born in the Mexican state of Durango, Garcia came to Chicago in 1965 and first lived in Pilsen before moving to Little Village. Garcia came of age politically in the 1980s, when he was an active member of the independent “Brown-Black” coalition of then-Mayor Harold Washington and served as an aide to Washington in the city’s water department.
He went on to win election as a state senator but lost his seat in 1998, becoming the first major casualty of then-Mayor Richard M. Daley’s Hispanic Democratic Organization, a patronage army. After HDO dissolved amid a hiring scandal, Garcia made a comeback in 2010, unseating county Commissioner Joseph Mario Moreno.
His first run for mayor in 2015 gained the backing of the Chicago Teachers Union and transformed Garcia into a prominent figure for the progressive movement. Garcia lost to Rahm Emanuel, who went on to serve two terms as mayor. Garcia also ran for mayor in 2023 but lost to Lori Lightfoot, who ultimately won the mayoral race.
Patty Garcia, no relation to the congressman, became his chief of staff in 2023 after serving as his district director since 2019. Prior to working for the congressman, she was the vice president of programs and operations for the Latino Center for Leadership Development, where she oversaw the training of Latino and Black candidates seeking policymaking roles.
Lupe Castillo of Chicago filed petitions to run for the Republican primary and Ed Hershey of Chicago also filed petitions on Monday to run as the Working Class Party candidate for the seat.