Sean Casten
Sean Casten, a Democrat who has represented Illinois's 6th congressional district since 2019, is seeking re-election in 2026 in a rematch against Republican Niki Conforti, an energy consultant.
2026 Races & Market Forecast
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- Born
- November 23, 1971
- Birthplace
- Dublin, Ireland
- Education
- Middlebury College (Bachelor of Arts in molecular biology and biochemistry, 1993)
Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College (Master of Engineering Management and Master of Science in biochemical engineering, 1998)
Biography & Campaign Analysis
Background
Sean Casten was born on November 23, 1971, in Dublin, Ireland, to American parents, Judy and Tom Casten, and was raised in Hartsdale, New York.
He earned a Bachelor of Arts in molecular biology and biochemistry from Middlebury College in 1993 and then worked for two years as a scientist at the Tufts University School of Medicine.
In 1998 he received a Master of Engineering Management and a Master of Science in biochemical engineering from the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College.
Career
Sean Casten began his business career at the consultancy Arthur D. Little, doing fuel chain analyses, and from 2000 to 2007 he was president and CEO of Turbosteam Corporation, which converted emissions from power plants into energy.
In 2007 he and his father founded Recycled Energy Development, which focused on recycling wasted energy; he settled a lawsuit brought by an investor and sold the company in 2016.
Casten was also a founding chairman of the Northeast CHP Initiative and took part in crafting the bill that became the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.
In 2018 Casten defeated six other contenders in the Democratic primary for Illinois's 6th congressional district, then unseated six-term Republican incumbent Peter Roskam by seven points on November 6, 2018. He was re-elected in 2020 over Jeanne Ives.
After redistricting following the 2020 census, he defeated fellow Democrat Marie Newman in the June 28, 2022, primary and Orland Park mayor Keith Pekau in the general election. In 2024 he defeated Republican Niki Conforti.
In the 119th Congress he serves on the Committee on Financial Services and the Joint Economic Committee, and he co-chairs the Sustainable Investment Caucus.
2026 race
Sean Casten is seeking re-election in Illinois's 6th congressional district, based in the southwest Chicago suburbs, including Oak Lawn and Downers Grove, and parts of the eastern DuPage County suburbs. He was re-elected in 2024 with 54.2% of the vote.
In the Democratic primary on March 17, 2026, Casten defeated software engineer Joey Ruzevich with 75.8% of the vote. The general election on November 3, 2026, is a rematch of the 2024 race against Republican Niki Conforti, an energy consultant who won the Republican primary with 82.2%.