Former Democratic congresswoman sounds off on Dems’ mistakes, political messaging, and the working class
AP Photo/Andrew Harnik
Cheri Bustos was raised in Springfield, worked as a newspaper reporter and in corporate communications in the Quad Cities, and then represented northwest Illinois in Congress from 2013-2023.
Bustos is a Democrat, and continued to win with large majorities even as her district flipped from Obama to Trump. In this era when Congressional districts are drawn to favor one party or the other, that puts her in a relatively exclusive club.
Bustos decided not to run for re-election in 2022, and is now a partner at the public affairs and lobbying firm Mercury. She shares her thoughts on what Kamala Harris did right during her presidential campaign and how some things in regards to messaging and responding to attacks could have been carried out in a different way.
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Cheri Bustos
Partner at the public affairs and lobbying firm Mercury
Former Democratic congresswoman (Quad Cities and northwest Illinois, 2013–2023)
PAR graduate (1985)