Despite the 16th Congressional District having no Democratic candidates in the 2024 general election, there is no shortage of candidates clamoring for the nomination in the 2026 midterms.
Brendyn Morgan of Chicago is a U.S. Army veteran and one of three Democratic candidates running in the district.
Morgan credited several aspects of his life in deciding to run for public office, including his six years in the Army, his work in public housing and lessons learned from his single mom. Morgan said he wants to run for Congress because, once again, he feels the call to serve his country.
“I took an oath to this country ... I’m still young, like I said I just turned 30, and in my eyes that oath, I’m not finished serving it,” he said. “Right now, I see people living in poverty, I see people living in distress and I see, quite frankly, a lot of inaction from Congress, specifically in Illinois’ 16th district with our current representative Darin LaHood.”
Morgan said LaHood hides from his constituents because of his voting decisions.
Morgan said he is not an expert, but his bachelor’s degree in political science and international relations gives him a grasp on what a congressman should know.
“I don’t feel like I’m an expert on any one category or aspect that most people could pinpoint and say, ‘That’s the transportation guy,’ or ‘That’s the law guy,’ but what I have is a foundational understanding as an American and a person who’s live more unprecedented times than any generation before me and a person who’s lived a life of servitude,” he said.
“I believe that applying all those strengths and mixing in a bit of conviction, I think that now is the perfect time to get my feet wet and really dive into supporting the people in Congress.”
Morgan does not describe his campaign as grassroots, but said it's definitely not traditional either, adding, right now, he is a team of one — managing everything from his social media to his website by himself.
“I wish I could call it a grassroots campaign, but I think it’s even more granular than that. It really did start with me and my views and my experiences as an American who’s seen through so many different lenses,” said Morgan. “My funding is definitely grassroots. I’m only using small donors, I don’t have any corporate ties. I don’t bow down to any corporate overlords.”
Morgan said he is not an establishment Democrat and plans to stay true to his values.
The incumbency challenge
LaHood has served in Congress since he was elected in a 2015 special election and ran last year in the 16th district against no Democratic opponent.
Morgan said some of his core issues include immigration, the economy and American values.
Morgan thinks he can win on those issues in the reliably red district, despite LaHood and President Trump making them their winning issues — if he can help constituents understand how he says Republicans are not serving their best interests.
“The Republican party in all intents and purposes does not exist anymore, it has been taken over by this cult mentality of people who kiss the ring and bow to the executive, even if it departs from normal American values,” he said. “We have to look at this as just a numbers game, it’s not partisanship to say the elites should not be living the way they do off of the sweat of our brow and the work on our backs, that’s where I stand on a lot of those key issues.”
Morgan said his key issues relate back to the idea of being for the people, not corporations.
When it comes to getting in contact and communicating with voters in the district to overcome LaHood’s familiarity, Morgan jokes Republicans are doing half the job for him.
“When you look at the amount of stress and strife people are living in right now and the way it’s so easy to paint the picture of these are the reasons why these things are happening ... the Republican party is not the beacon of fiscal conservatism or of fairness and equity that they have campaigned on,” he said.
Morgan said LaHood, among other Republicans, will campaign as a moderate and then vote against the interests of their voters. He said he would serve voters by listening to policy experts.
“We’ve got to stop twiddling our thumbs, we’ve got to stop acting like there aren’t plans in place already built by experts,” he said. “I’m a no-nonsense person. I believe in order to win ... red voters over, we have to speak the same language ... I know that Americans are fed up and I know regardless of what side of the political spectrum you fall on, if you’re able to look at policies and say, ‘This policy is going to be beneficial for me and people like me.’ I think that that is the key to winning.”
Morgan said the most straightforward way he can reach voters is by being authentic.
“Coming from a place of authenticity is so much more valuable than any financial war-chest in my opinion could be,” he said. “For starters, one thing that I do is just have conversations like this. I attend events, I attend interviews and things like that because I believe my message is almost universal in a sense that we just want some relief, we want to move the needle forward finally.”
Agriculture
Morgan said agriculture is one of the topics he feels the most excitement about because of the district's large rural area and the importance of it to voters. He is concerned about small farms and their ability to stay afloat.
“[Small] family farm bankruptcies have shot up 55% this year alone, just due to the tariffs and policies that have been put in place, and so part of fixing that and actually representing the agricultural sector of America is being common sense about these things,” said Morgan.
“We shouldn’t be emplacing tariffs that, number one, increase the cost of goods for American consumers, but also make it harder to do business internationally.”
Morgan said China has not placed a single order for Illinois soybeans this year — one of the state’s biggest consumers for the product, adding he would have other financial priorities for agriculture.
“So, working towards redirecting federal funds to provide relief and even support for small farms and small businesses and small operations ... are ways that we can bring the bottom up and really support our farmers and our agricultural businesses through legislation without implicating serious tax hikes on the middle class,” he said.
Economy
Morgan is not in favor of the rest of President Trump’s tariffs either. He said it is a useful economic tool, but now it is hurting Americans.
“I have seen not a single benefit, the revenue that we’ve seen is largely from the American people,” he said. “They call it tariff revenue, but essentially it’s just an additional tax.”
Morgan said the president is ignoring business owners and Americans who have asked the administration to stop.
“It is essentially ostracizing the United States from any future business and it’s kind of tainting our reputation at least for a decade to come, so I believe that we have to nip this in the bud immediately and really pull back some of those executive powers Donald Trump has been abusing,” he said.
Morgan said he would join other congressman to enact new legislation limiting the executive powers of the president.
Immigration
Morgan said his military experience reminded him in a time of heightened immigration enforcement just how dangerous tension and stress can be, which is why he wants it to end.
“When everybody is walking around at this breaking point, it’s honestly dangerous to continue these aggressive immigration raids and whatnot,” he said. “I totally support the phasing out of the immigration and customs enforcement agency (ICE] … It has proven to be so ineffective and so honestly detrimental in its application…”
Morgan said he wants an agency that will prioritize humanity at the center of its initiatives.
However, an overwhelming number of Americans believe in deportation for violent criminals in the country, and Morgan recognized the need for some kind of force to handle the inevitable cases.
“We have police, we have border patrol. Those are external to ICE, and they have been there way longer than ICE has,” he said. “Allowing those agencies again to be empowered to enforce the law and protect the communities that they serve. It should be at the forefront of any immigration enforcement, whether it is deemed an aggressive criminal or just a regular person.”
Morgan said he would prioritize a new pathway to citizenship for immigrants.
Primary opponents
Scott Best of Normal and Paul Nolley of Rockford also are running for the nomination. Bradley University professor Joe Albright has ended his campaign and endorsed Nolley.
Morgan said he wishes there were even more candidates.
“Even if you’re not in this to win, I believe that the messages that each candidate brings are very, very important to broadening the aspect, broadening the scope of the amount of voters that we’re representing,” he said.
The primary election is March 17, 2026.
