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Eric Sorensen (politician)

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For other people named Eric Sorensen, see Eric Sorensen (disambiguation).

Eric Sorensen
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Illinois's 17th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3, 2023
Preceded byCheri Bustos
Personal details
Born (1976-03-18) March 18, 1976 (age 49)
Rockford, Illinois, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
EducationNorthern Illinois University (BS)
WebsiteHouse website

Eric Sorensen (/ˈsɔːrənsən/ SOR-ən-sən; born March 18, 1976) is an American meteorologist and politician serving as the U.S. representative from Illinois's 17th congressional district since 2023. His district covers a large swath of western and central Illinois, centered around Moline, Rock Island, and the Illinois side of the Quad Cities. It also includes large slices of Peoria and Rockford. A member of the Democratic Party, Sorensen is the first openly gay member of Congress from Illinois.[1]

Early life and career

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Sorensen was born in Rockford, Illinois.[2] He graduated from Boylan Catholic High School[3] and then studied communications and meteorology at Northern Illinois University.[4]

Sorensen began his career as a meteorologist at KTRE, the ABC affiliate in Lufkin, Texas, from 1999 to 2000 before moving to Tyler, Texas, where he was the morning meteorologist for East Texas News Daybreak, which aired on both KLTV and KTRE-TV. He worked as chief meteorologist for WREX, Rockford's NBC affiliate, from 2003 to 2014, before becoming the senior meteorologist for WQAD, the ABC affiliate of Moline, Illinois. Sorensen became a fellow of the Society for Environmental Journalists in 2018.[5]

Sorensen retired from television in 2021.[3][6] Afterwards, he took a job in communications for UnityPoint Health before announcing his run for Congress.[3]

U.S. House of Representatives

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Elections

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2022

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See also: 2022 Illinois's 17th congressional district election
Sorensen being sworn in with the 118th Congress, 2023

With Cheri Bustos not seeking re-election, Sorensen declared his candidacy for the United States House of Representatives for Illinois's 17th congressional district in the 2022 elections on November 10, 2021, as a member of the Democratic Party.[6] He defeated Esther Joy King, the Republican nominee, in the November 8, 2022, general election.[7] Upon taking office in January 2023, Sorensen became only the second Democrat since 1927 to represent a significant portion of Peoria, and the second since the 1850s to represent a significant portion of Rockford.[citation needed]

2024

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See also: 2024 Illinois's 17th congressional district election

In the 2024 election, Sorensen defeated Republican nominee Joseph McGraw with 54.4% of the vote.[8]

Tenure

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Sorensen visits Ingersoll Machine Tools in Rockford to show support for manufacturing in his district, 2023

Sorensen was sworn into office on January 7, 2023, as the U.S. representative for Illinois’s 17th congressional district.[9] During the 118th Congress, he was appointed to the Agriculture and Science, Space, and Technology committees.[9] In May of his first year, Sorensen introduced the Stop Games Act, legislation aimed at lowering drug costs by allowing the FDA to reject fake citizen petitions used by pharmaceutical companies to delay approval of generic drugs.[10] In July, he secured the inclusion of $4.6 million for six Central Illinois infrastructure projects, ranging from flood mitigation to housing and water system upgrades, in two appropriations bills.[11] In October, he co-introduced the bipartisan Upper Mississippi River Levee Safety Act to give local levee districts more flexibility in managing flood protections along the Mississippi River.[12]

In March 2024, Sorensen secured $123 million for western Illinois infrastructure projects, including water main repairs, road improvements, and river navigation upgrades.[13] In April, he co-introduced the bipartisan ONSHORE Act to help communities attract manufacturing investment by establishing a federal grant program to prepare undeveloped sites for strategically important industries.[14]

In 2025, Sorensen was one of 46 House Democrats who joined all Republicans to vote for the Laken Riley Act.[15]

Committee assignments

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Sorensen on the Science, Space, & Technology Committee, 2023

Sorensen's committee assignments for the 119th Congress include:[16]

Caucus memberships

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Sorensen's caucus memberships include:[17]

Personal life

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Sorensen is the first openly gay person to be elected to Congress from Illinois.[1] He lives with his partner in Moline.[1]

Electoral history

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2022

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Illinois 17th Congressional District Democratic Primary, 2022
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Eric Sorensen 14,702 37.7
Democratic Litesa Wallace 9,103 23.3
Democratic Jonathan Logemann 5,628 14.4
Democratic Angie Normoyle 4,818 12.4
Democratic Marsha Williams 2,701 6.9
Democratic Jacqueline McGowan 2,040 5.2
Write-in 14 0.0
Total votes 39,006 100.0
Illinois 17th Congressional District General Election, 2022[18]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Eric Sorensen 121,186 52.0
Republican Esther Joy King 111,931 48.0
Write-in 6 0.0
Total votes 233,123 100.0

2024

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Illinois 17th Congressional District General Election, 2024[19]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Eric Sorensen (incumbent) 170,261 54.4
Republican Joe McGraw 142,567 45.6
Total votes 312,828 100.0

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "IL Meteorologist Sorensen Becomes State's First Openly Gay Congressman". patch.com. November 10, 2022.
  2. ^ "Bioguide Search". bioguide.congress.gov. Retrieved May 4, 2025.
  3. ^ a b c "Eric Sorensen, former Rockford TV meteorologist, to run for Congress". Rrstar.com. November 10, 2021. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  4. ^ Kinnicutt, Grace (October 17, 2022). "Meet the Illinois-17th District candidates: Eric Sorensen and Esther Joy King". The Quad-City Times. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  5. ^ Schiller, Lucy (November 7, 2019). "The Flood Watcher". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved March 13, 2025.
  6. ^ a b "Former Rockford meteorologist Eric Sorensen announces run for Illinois' 17th Congressional District". Wifr.com. November 10, 2021. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  7. ^ "King concedes Illinois 17th Congressional District race to Sorensen". Kwqc.com. November 9, 2022. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  8. ^ "Illinois 17th Congressional District Election Results". The New York Times. November 5, 2024. Retrieved March 13, 2025.
  9. ^ a b "Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives". web.archive.org. March 28, 2023. Retrieved May 4, 2025.
  10. ^ "U.S. Rep. Sorensen introduces bill to help lower drug prices". Shaw Local. May 12, 2023. Retrieved May 4, 2025.
  11. ^ mateusz.janik@lee.net, MATEUSZ JANIK (July 20, 2023). "Congressman Eric Sorensen announces investments for Central Illinois infrastructure projects". pantagraph.com. Retrieved May 4, 2025.
  12. ^ "New legislation to improve flood protections along the Mississippi River". CIProud.com. October 3, 2023. Archived from the original on January 10, 2025. Retrieved May 4, 2025.
  13. ^ "Federal money earmarked for Lanark water main upgrades". Shaw Local. March 12, 2024. Retrieved May 4, 2025.
  14. ^ Turner, Johnathan (April 12, 2024). "Bill introduced to help IL QC manufacturing". Our Quad Cities.
  15. ^ Rashid, Hafiz (January 22, 2025). "The 46 Democrats Who Voted for Republicans' Racist Immigration Bill". The New Republic. Retrieved January 31, 2025.
  16. ^ "List of Standing Committees and Select Committees of the House of Representatives" (PDF). Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved April 27, 2025.
  17. ^ "Rep. Eric Sorensen - D Illinois, 17th, In Office - Biography | LegiStorm". www.legistorm.com. Retrieved May 4, 2025.
  18. ^ "2022 General Election Results". Archived from the original on January 28, 2021. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  19. ^ "2024 General Election Results". Archived from the original on January 28, 2021. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
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U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Illinois's 17th congressional district
2023–present 		Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by United States representatives by seniority
357th 		Succeeded by
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