We’re not interested in machine politics.
Mitchell Esslinger grew up in a once-vibrant part of rural Illinois, and decided to take action against the devastating effects the growing urban-rural divide had on his community, his friends, and his family.
In a small but important movement, we launched a progressive grassroots campaign built on Illinoisan and American values of peace, equality, democracy, liberty, and justice for all.
Our opponent had not been challenged in years.
We forwent ceremonies and hokey scenery, and launched our campaign in a parking lot. We did not have backing from wealthy donors or corporate interests, only citizens who demanded change. We collected signatures from District 102 residents to get on the ballot, and accepted small donations exclusively from local residents and democratically operated organizations.
We even made it into the paper.
Our movement could have been written off, but the both the citizens of District 102 and the local news media knew we posed a serious threat to our opponent, Brad Halbrook, and his largely unopposed tenure in the district.
Our opponent’s daughter endorsed us over her dad.
He took corporate money, he supported cruel policy measures like voting no on capping insulin prices for Illinois residents, and threw his own daughter out on the street during a global pandemic. We had to expose the many-headed hydra voters were up against, and aired commercials on local stations, and converted them to radio ads.
Of course, she wasn’t the only one who did.
Below is the list of every figure and organization who endorsed our campaign.
