The libertarian-leaning Illinois Policy Institute will be trying its hand at candidate recruitment this summer and fall, sending out at minimum tens of thousands of postcards to households the organization identifies as “high propensity voters” who also align with the think tank on issues of “economic freedom,” seeking out those who may be interested in running for office.
Illinois Policy’s outreach drive — a pilot for a possible more robust candidate training program in the future — is being launched in tandem with a new paper from three staff researchers at the organization. The paper argues that because Illinois’ legislative and congressional district maps are drawn with a low degree of competitiveness, incumbents go uncontested because a House or Senate district is all but guaranteed to a Republican or Democrat, leading to lower voter turnout.