CARROLL COUNTY, Ill. – The chair of the Carroll County Board, Julie Bickelhaupt of rural Mount Carroll, has announced her candidacy for Illinois’ 17th Congressional District.
Bickelhaupt joins fellow Republican Dillan Vancil, of Monmouth, seeking to unseat Democratic Congressman Eric Sorensen of Moline, who is serving his second term in Washington, D.C.
The 17th District includes parts of Peoria, Tazewell, McLean, and Fulton Counties.
In a release, Bickelhaupt says Sorensen represents everything that’s wrong with politics. She says Sorensen is a radical politician “that would rather chase extreme agendas than deliver for working families.”
Bickelhaupt says she will fight to lower costs, defend jobs, and make sure families have a fair shot at a better life.
“While Eric Sorensen was reading the weather on TV, I was raising cattle, working the land, and keeping a family business afloat. That’s the difference between us,” Bickelhaupt says.
Bickelhaupt adds, “If not for political insiders giving him a gerrymandered district, he wouldn’t even be in office. I intend to change that.”
Bickelhaupt says her three top priorities will be lowering the cost of living, protecting agriculture, and to strengthen education in Illinois.
Bickelhaupt is a graduate of Eastern Illinois University, and her family has farmed land near Mount Carroll for seven generations, according to a release.
The 2026 primary is set for March 17, and the general election will be held on November 3, 2026.
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