It used to be that incumbent U.S. House members in swing districts usually didn't get challenged in primaries by members of their own party. That truism has eroded in recent years, as political polarization is prompting more primaries from the left or right of sitting office holders.
Montez Soliz is another example of the trend. The Rockford native said he's running against Democratic U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen in the March primary for the 17th Congressional District in Illinois.
“My platform runs on three basic points: economic justice, health care and rights and building strong communities. I believe that we need to be making work pay with better wages and benefits, legislatively, expanding earned tax income credit, child tax credit,” said Soliz.
Soliz said he is the son of a single mother who graduated with a diploma in one hand and baby Montez in the other, and he wants to make dreams like that possible more often. He said it’s why he’s making a run just two years after graduating from Northern Illinois University.
“I'm stepping forward because our generation cannot wait to be decided by people who are not living the struggles that we are. Too many leaders wait until it is politically safe to lead. I'm not waiting. Families here cannot afford more of the same,” said Soliz.
Immigration
He is critical of Sorensen on immigration issues. Soliz said when ICE came to Rockford a couple months ago, he had family and friends who are DACA recipients calling him crying and afraid.
"And to have a representative that has been quiet or on the sidelines or addressing the situation too late, that really rubbed me the wrong way. And so, for me I think that was the final nail in the coffin," said Soliz. “We shouldn't have to be anointed to lead when we could just be leaders ourselves.”
Soliz said he doesn't like Sorensen's support for the Laken Riley Act that allows holding certain non-citizens without bail if they are accused of violent crimes or theft. He called it “one of the most conservative pieces of legislation that tackles immigration reform.”
That law signed at the end of January attracted some bipartisan support. In all, 48 House and 12 Senate Democrats voted for it, including Sorensen. Some Democrats said they opposed it because it would violate due process rights for migrants.
“I come from a family that immigrated from Mexico. I'm a proud Afro Latino,” said Soliz. “My grandfather, who had built a nonprofit to help Black and brown kids succeed in school, from him, I learned that leadership isn't about titles. It's about responsibility.”
Sorensen has also said he supported the bipartisan Dignity Act that would have overhauled the U.S. immigration system, as well as legislation to increase funding for U.S. Customs and Border Enforcement to combat the flow of fentanyl into the country.
Environment
Soliz said Sorensen also has disappointed on the environment.
"He deems to be the only meteorologist in Congress. And yet, we have not seen any form of comprehensive or reasonable approach in addressing climate change," said Soliz.
The Biden administration's Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, before Sorensen arrived in Congress, included significant proposals to address climate change. The second Trump administration has tried to roll back many of those initiatives. Sorensen is in the minority in a Congress dominated by a party that is less concerned with climate change.
In light of his critique of Sorensen, how would Soliz have fared differently than Sorensen on environmental issues?
"Fair question," said Soliz. “Bipartisanship is important, but at the end of the day, I will not compromise my core values or the values of the 17th when it comes to addressing their concerns.”
Congruence
Soliz and Sorensen are united in their low opinion of the GOP's massive tax cut and spending law that Soliz said hurts farmers, and essential healthcare programs. There are other areas of agreement as well.
“I'm proud to walk alongside community organizers and leaders similar to him, to address the concerns and issues that are going on, not just in this district, but all across this nation, particularly with this second Trump administration,” said Soliz.
Social Security
Projections indicate the Social Security Trust Fund may run out of cash to sustain benefits at their current levels sometime in the next decade. Soliz said Social Security and Medicaid are a promise, not a piggy bank. Policy proposals to address the looming shortfall include but are not limited to reducing benefits, raising the retirement age, taxing high earners more for Social Security wages, and setting lower caps for the benefits of high earners.
“I will fight to protect and strengthen these programs by ... making sure that billionaires and the wealthiest corporations pay their fair share, and by closing loopholes that drain the system,” said Soliz, who said he opposes reducing benefits and is open to using other government revenue to support Social Security.
“When we're addressing these subsidies that are being wasted on benefits that the president and this administration deem are appropriate, when we shift that money around, there is money to go into social programs such as Social Security,” said Soliz.
Budget deficit
The Treasury Department estimates the federal budget deficit at nearly $2 trillion for fiscal year 2025, a slight increase from the previous year. The last time the budget was balanced was 1994 during the Clinton administration. In the last couple years, some economists have begun to sound warnings about the scope of annual government overspending.
Soliz suggested ways to start reducing the deficit include reversing course on Trump administration tax cuts for the wealthy.
“By closing … these tax loopholes, ending subsidies that reward outsourcing and making sure that the wealthiest and biggest corporations pay their fair share,” said Soliz. “This big bag of BS [Big Beautiful Bill] will be increasing our debt some $5 trillion to $8 trillion over the next 10 years. This is beyond the Trump administration. This is a bill that our generation and generations currently are having to foot. I deem that as unacceptable."
Soliz claimed the nation can pay for proposed increases in health care coverage, education, and community investments and reduce the deficit by changing tax policy.
“Every generation is told that we can't afford to invest in ourselves, but the truth is, we can't afford not to,” he said.
Political coalitions
The 2024 election still poses some hard questions for Democrats. They lost ground among white blue-collar workers, Hispanic voters, African American men, men in general, and rural and suburban voters. Differences in party base turnout also mattered.
Soliz noted 76% of Latino males voted for Trump, suggesting Democrats have a lot of work to do.
“I deem the issue is not addressing the bread-and-butter issues that are going on not just in this district, but all across this nation, whether that's addressing Medicare and having a more comprehensive approach in doing that, when we talk about economic justice, we need to be ensuring that we're talking about fair wages and benefits, fighting price gouging, delivering real property tax relief by moving more school funding to the federal level,” said Soliz.
He acknowledged his party must also address emotional cultural issues, feelings of loss and disenfranchisement among some voting groups.
“I come from a multicultural background. A lot of what we're seeing is cultural. People feel unheard and unseen and left behind, and when leaders exploit that, they turn real pain into political theater. I believe culture is built by how we live together day by day, and so whether families feel respected at work, kids feel safe at school, or where our neighbors can trust one another. The way we strengthen our culture isn't by, you know, scapegoating people. It's by investing in our communities, respecting the different perspectives that we share, and reminding folks that, you know, we will rise or fall together,” said Soliz.
He said when leaders use "fear instead of facts, trust in institutions erodes," adding the answer is not doubling down on division, but to build coalitions rooted in fairness and dignity. He said centering the basics of education, health care, job creation, and living wages will help. He said division might win headlines, but unity keeps a country standing.
Sorensen had $545,000 in cash available in his campaign funds at the end of June, according to the Federal Election Commission. The FEC had no records for that period indicating financial activity by the Montez For Congress committee.
The 17th Congressional District stretches from Bloomington-Normal through Peoria and the Quad Cities and swinging northeast all the way to Rockford.
The primary election is March 17, 2026.
