Sean Casten · [email protected]

September 16, 2026 at 11:36 PM

I play a bad "Piano Man"

Paid for by Casten for Congress — Campaign for Sean Casten

Folks, I play piano just well enough not to butcher most of the classic rock canon. Springsteen, Elton, and some Billy Joel if I’ve been practicing. But I've never been the guy people gather around the piano to listen to. And that’s A-OK with me. I'd argue that's the role I actually fill in Congress…

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  Sean Casten · [email protected]

September 15, 2026 at 7:36 PM

still behind.

Paid for by Casten for Congress — Campaign for Sean Casten

Just bumping up the email I sent you yesterday. The short version: Our mid-month deadline is TONIGHT, and we're behind our target fundraising goal. If you've been on the fence, now’s the time to pitch in. Will you chip in $5 right now to get us back on track before our end-of-quarter FEC deadline? C…

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  Sean Casten · [email protected]

September 14, 2026 at 3:35 PM

I hate to bother you right now…but I’m doing it anyway

Paid for by Casten for Congress — Campaign for Sean Casten

Hey, it's Monday. You deserve a nice, peaceful start to the week. Which is why I hate to bother you about my campaign finance worries, but the stakes are so high that I’m forcing myself to do it anyway. I'll be quick. $9,331. That's what's between my campaign and our mid-month fundraising target. He…

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  Sean Casten · [email protected]

September 12, 2026 at 4:10 PM

We don’t have this in the bag.

Paid for by Casten for Congress — Campaign for Sean Casten

Folks, IL-06 is rated D+3. If you hear “D+3” and think "safe," I have to burst your bubble. This district was Republican for 46 straight years before I flipped it in 2018. In the last midterm cycle, FiveThirtyEight rated ours one of the most competitive House races in the entire country. And three p…

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  Sean Casten · [email protected]

September 10, 2026 at 4:03 PM

I'm an acquired taste

Paid for by Casten for Congress — Campaign for Sean Casten

Folks, I get it — I'm not everyone's cup of tea (and if I'm being completely honest, there's just regular old coffee in that cup. ) Back in 2018, I flipped this district blue for the first time in nearly 50 years. That was only possible because people across the political spectrum took a chance on m…

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  Sean Casten · [email protected]

September 8, 2026 at 5:05 PM

the cracks are showing

Paid for by Casten for Congress — Campaign for Sean Casten

I’m an engineer. One thing I learned early on is that a crack in drywall is cosmetic, but a crack in the foundation means the building is coming down. Donald Trump built his administration — and the entire MAGA movement — on a foundation of lies. Now the cracks are showing. Trump's approval, Septemb…

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  Sean Casten · [email protected]

September 6, 2026 at 4:16 PM

a piece of the pie 🥧

Paid for by Casten for Congress — Campaign for Sean Casten

Folks, tomorrow you get a day off. Most people don't think much about where it came from. Nobody handed out the weekend. Or the 40-hour week. Or overtime, or workplace safety rules, or the law that says your kid can't spend their childhood in a factory. Every single one of those exists because worki…

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  Sean Casten · [email protected]

September 4, 2026 at 9:16 PM

60

Paid for by Casten for Congress — Campaign for Sean Casten

60. That's how many days are left until November 3rd. I could write you the standard version of this email, the one with the countdown clock and the words "critical" and "everything is on the line." You've read that email. I've sent that email. Instead, I want to make an engineer's argument. Not "gi…

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  Sean Casten · [email protected]

September 2, 2026 at 7:05 PM

progress is behind the locked door

Paid for by Casten for Congress — Campaign for Sean Casten

Last week, the Supreme Court let Trump move ahead with his mail-in voting order, 6-3. Nobody who follows this Court was surprised. That's the part I want to talk about — the fact that none of us were surprised they took a jackhammer to democracy. I spent twenty years in engineering before I got here…

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  Sean Casten · [email protected]

August 31, 2026 at 11:31 PM

if you’re reading this…⏱️

Paid for by Casten for Congress — Campaign for Sean Casten

If you're reading this, it's (almost) too late to chip in before my August fundraising period closes forever. Almost. Here's the thing: I wrote you a long email about this. I always do. My team reads it, and then my team cuts it, and what's left is mostly the parts I couldn't argue them out of. So h…

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  Sean Casten · [email protected]

August 30, 2026 at 4:02 PM

A quick chemistry lesson. Then a $25 ask.

Paid for by Casten for Congress — Campaign for Sean Casten

Bear with me. This one's actually good I have a quick chemistry lesson for you. Then I'll get out of your hair. In chemistry, there's a concept called activation energy. It’s the minimum amount of energy a reaction needs before it can proceed on its own. Below that threshold? Nothing moves. Nothing …

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  Sean Casten · [email protected]

August 28, 2026 at 10:10 PM

before you log off

Paid for by Casten for Congress — Campaign for Sean Casten

Hey, It’s Friday, and you likely have better things to do than read a fundraising email. So I’m just asking for 60 seconds of your time. My end-of-month deadline is Monday at midnight. Progress towards my fundraising goal is…not where I’d like it to be. Now the part my team does not love me saying o…

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  Sean Casten · [email protected]

August 26, 2026 at 10:31 PM

Hot-button issues — literally

Paid for by Casten for Congress — Campaign for Sean Casten

Here’s a saying that I live by, both as a hot sauce chef and member of Congress: If you can’t handle a little heat, get out of the kitchen. I've made a reputation in Washington as a guy who’s not afraid of a hot-button issue or a spicy stance. And if you’re reading this (or anything I’ve written), y…

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  Sean Casten · [email protected]

August 25, 2026 at 4:11 PM

⚡ one watt ($1)

Paid for by Casten for Congress — Campaign for Sean Casten

I'm about to ask you for $1. I know. Against the people currently buying our government wholesale, one dollar is…not much. But I built energy systems before I ever ran for office, so let me tell you something about the grid. For a century, we ran this country on a handful of enormous power plants. T…

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  Sean Casten · [email protected]

August 22, 2026 at 4:11 PM

you can't teach an old Congressman new tricks

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They say you can't teach an old Congressman new tricks. In my experience, that's not necessarily true. Some of my longest-serving colleagues are the sharpest legislators I've ever worked with, and I've learned a great deal from them. This is supposed to be a representative government. We need people…

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  Sean Casten · [email protected]

August 20, 2026 at 8:35 PM

6 reasons to support my campaign

Paid for by Casten for Congress — Campaign for Sean Casten

I'm an engineer by training, which means I’m a numbers guy. It’s tough to choose a favorite, but six is a great one. Six is what mathematicians call a perfect number. (For my fellow nerds, that means its divisors –1, 2, and 3– add up to exactly itself.) Six is also the number of my Congressional dis…

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  Sean Casten · [email protected]

August 18, 2026 at 3:10 PM

it's time we had The Talk 🐝

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Folks, we need to talk about the birds and the bees. Not that talk. I mean the actual birds. The actual bees. Here's what's happening to them while Washington argues about ballrooms and reflecting pools: Two-thirds of North America’s bird species are at risk of extinction as the planet warms. Extrem…

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  Brian Poindexter · [email protected]

August 16, 2026 at 2:20 PM

We're in the fight of our lives

Paid for by Casten for Congress — Campaign for Sean Casten

And we need you in our corner. Team, it’s Brian Poindexter. We’re in the fight for our lives. A union ironworker won a Democratic primary for Congress in OH-07, and it happened because working people across this district showed up and said they're ready for something different. I’ll cut to the chase…

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  Sean Casten · [email protected]

August 14, 2026 at 3:25 PM

$3. 3 seats. 3 months to win ‘em all.

Paid for by Casten for Congress — Campaign for Sean Casten

the math on flipping the House Folks, quick arithmetic lesson. Yes, another one; I promise I have other talents: Republicans hold the House by a razor-thin margin. Democrats need to flip just THREE seats to win back the majority. In a chamber of 435 people, the difference between four more years of …

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  Sean Casten · [email protected]

August 12, 2026 at 7:35 PM

Repeal the whole damn thing

Paid for by Casten for Congress — Campaign for Sean Casten

I wrote this piece for Daily Herald because the Big Ugly Bill isn't just bad policy. It's a test of whether we'll actually fight for working families or just complain about it. $2.5 trillion ripped out of healthcare, education, and food assistance to bankroll $5.9 trillion in permanent tax cuts for …

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  Sean Casten · [email protected]

August 10, 2026 at 7:15 PM

5 Ways I Fought for You This Summer

Paid for by Casten for Congress — Campaign for Sean Casten

Folks, kids aren't the only ones with summer assignments. Here's my report for the season: Introduced the bipartisan Stop Crypto ATM Scams Act to protect seniors from fraud Introduced the Multi-Class Stock Company Voting Transparency Act to help retirement savers and pensioners keep track of their h…

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  Sean Casten · [email protected]

August 8, 2026 at 3:15 PM

How to actually fix a broken Congress

Paid for by Casten for Congress — Campaign for Sean Casten

Folks, I've spent the last few weeks doing what I do every August: driving all over Chicagoland, sitting in library meeting rooms and VFW halls, listening to whoever walks in the door. And almost every stop, somebody tells me a version of the same story: "I called my representative’s office, and nob…

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  Sean Casten · [email protected]

August 6, 2026 at 6:36 PM

the frog doesn’t know it’s boiling 🐸

Paid for by Casten for Congress — Campaign for Sean Casten

Folks, it's back. If you missed last year's briefing: "corn sweat" is a real meteorological phenomenon where millions of acres of Midwest corn release water vapor into the air, cranking up humidity and making already-brutal heat waves feel actively hostile. It is, and I cannot stress this enough, a …

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  Sean Casten · [email protected]

August 4, 2026 at 10:05 PM

No-call, no-show

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Imagine telling your boss you're going to disappear for a month. Or four. No clear explanation. Just...gone, but demanding the paychecks keep coming. You'd be fired. Most of us don't get a single unexplained no-call-no-show before HR gets involved, let alone weeks or months of them. The exception, a…

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  Sean Casten · [email protected]

August 2, 2026 at 3:15 PM

pop quiz, hotshots 🧠

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I'm not a doctor, and I'm not going to play one in your inbox. Hey, quick test. No pressure. Who is the president of Ukraine? What's the official name of Iran's government? What's the name of the 2015 agreement that limited Iran's nuclear program? At a summit of world leaders, are you a fellow head …

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  Sean Casten · [email protected]

July 31, 2026 at 10:02 PM

A quick physics lesson. Then a $25 ask.

Paid for by Casten for Congress — Campaign for Sean Casten

Bear with me. This one's actually good. I have a quick physics lesson for you. Don’t click away – I promise it’ll be short. Then I'll get out of your hair. There's a concept called critical mass. It's the minimum amount of material needed before a chain reaction becomes self-sustaining. Below that t…

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  Sean Casten · [email protected]

July 30, 2026 at 8:34 PM

we need to catch up.

Paid for by Casten for Congress — Campaign for Sean Casten

because the heat isn't letting up. July is almost over. The air conditioners are working overtime. The ice cream is melting faster than MAGA's credibility. And we've got just one day left to close out the month. What a month it's been. America turned 250 in the middle of a record heat wave. Trump ga…

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  Sean Casten · [email protected]

July 28, 2026 at 8:16 PM

I've had enough

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I'll keep this short, because frankly, we're all exhausted. I've had enough. You've had enough. Enough of the chaos, the corruption, the rising costs, and a president who governs like the whole country is his personal piggy bank. But being tired is not the same as being beaten. It's a sign you've be…

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  Sean Casten · [email protected]

July 26, 2026 at 9:34 PM

an honest update from me.

Paid for by Casten for Congress — Campaign for Sean Casten

I'll be honest with you. Some days, this work is exhausting. Not because I doubt what we're fighting for. I don't, not for a second. But the mess is so big, and the calendar is so packed, and there are mornings when I read the news before I've had my coffee and think: will the crises ever end? I ima…

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  Sean Casten · [email protected]

July 24, 2026 at 9:50 PM

Casten call

Paid for by Casten for Congress — Campaign for Sean Casten

November 2026. Coming to a ballot box near you. Folks, summer is blockbuster season. Every year, Hollywood rolls out the sequels: bigger budgets, higher stakes, the villain's back, and this time it's personal. Some of them are great. Some of them are a cynical cash grab that should never have been g…

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  Sean Casten · [email protected]

July 23, 2026 at 4:30 PM

Over and over and over again. ☀️

Paid for by Casten for Congress — Campaign for Sean Casten

A genuine public health message. Also a metaphor. Also a fundraising ask. Folks, before I say anything else: you’d better be wearing sunscreen this summer! I'm serious. I'm a scientist. I know exactly what UV radiation does to skin cells: the DNA damage, the cumulative effect, the way it compounds o…

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  Sean Casten · [email protected]

July 21, 2026 at 3:15 PM

My Roman Empire

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America can do hard things. On July 20th, 1969, Neil Armstrong stepped onto the surface of the moon. The Apollo program—400,000 scientists, engineers, mathematicians, and visionaries—accomplished something most people only dreamed of. With committed public investment, brilliant minds, and sheer Amer…

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  Sean Casten · [email protected]

July 18, 2026 at 8:36 PM

My summer reading pile (send help)

Paid for by Casten for Congress — Campaign for Sean Casten

Some people tan. I annotate. Folks, it's a scorcher out there in Chicagoland, and I've got the perfect prescription: air conditioning, a cold drink, and a good book. Somewhere between votes, hearings, and pretending the Capitol's AC is doing its job, here are some page-turners I’ve been squeezing in…

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  Sean Casten · [email protected]

July 16, 2026 at 9:16 PM

Let's Flip the House

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And not the HGTV kind I've been watching a lot of home renovation shows lately. It’s a nice palate cleanser after the evening news. Here's what I've learned: Every flipper follows the same plan. Assess the damage. Make a plan. Put in the work. Flip it. So let's see if that process could apply to a H…

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  Sean Casten · [email protected]

July 15, 2026 at 8:16 PM

🌶️ From mild to HOT: our July meter

Paid for by Casten for Congress — Campaign for Sean Casten

Folks, it's officially hot sauce season in the Casten household. If you've been on this team a while, you might know that I make my own fermented hot sauce every year. It's a whole process that takes patience, attention to detail, and a lot of faith that fermentation is actually working even when it…

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  Sean Casten · [email protected]

July 12, 2026 at 9:15 PM

3 hot messes 🌡️

Paid for by Casten for Congress — Campaign for Sean Casten

Last week, Chicago hit 95 degrees. The heat index pushed 108. Across the Midwest and East, over 165 million Americans were under heat alerts. Parades got canceled, Amtrak slowed down its trains so the tracks wouldn't buckle, and at least 25 heat-related fatalities. Friend, I've been writing about th…

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  Sean Casten · [email protected]

July 10, 2026 at 10:05 PM

Thanks, neighbor

Paid for by Casten for Congress — Campaign for Sean Casten

Friend, before I'm your Congressman, I'm your neighbor. And today, I just want to say thank you. I live here. I shop here. I get my pizza here (and yes, I have opinions about which place is best, but I'll keep those to myself to keep the peace). But I’ve been around long enough to know that IL-06 ha…

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  Sean Casten · [email protected]

July 8, 2026 at 10:45 PM

meet the three horsemen of the anti-democracy apocalypse

Paid for by Casten for Congress — Campaign for Sean Casten

Folks, every time I hold a town hall here in IL-06, someone asks me a version of the same question: Why can't Congress just pass the things most Americans actually want? Universal background checks. Abortion rights. Closing corporate tax loopholes. Paid family leave. These poll well above 60-70% sup…

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  Sean Casten · [email protected]

July 6, 2026 at 10:10 PM

What's on the grill? 🔥

Paid for by Casten for Congress — Campaign for Sean Casten

A summer BBQ. A list of MAGA failures. And one ask. I hope your Fourth of July was a good one. Mine involved a cooler full of leftovers I'll probably still be eating by Wednesday. While I was on grill duty, I kept thinking about something. Grilling takes a little finesse. You've got to manage the he…

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  Sean Casten · [email protected]

July 4, 2026 at 4:30 PM

250 candles. 🕯️

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Happy birthday, America. 250 years ago today, 56 people signed their names to a document that changed the world. They pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to the radical idea that all people are created equal. Then they went home, and we spent the next two and a half centuries…

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  Sean Casten · [email protected]

June 30, 2026 at 9:55 PM

The Supreme Coup strikes again

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...I mean Supreme Court Surprise, surprise. The Supreme Coup of the United States — sorry, I mean the Supreme Court — just struck down the cap on coordinated spending between political parties and candidates. 6-3. Another day, another ruling that hands more power to whoever already has the most of i…

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  Sean Casten · [email protected]

June 29, 2026 at 11:18 PM

🚨 24 hours

Paid for by Casten for Congress — Campaign for Sean Casten

(I'll keep this short.) My team asked me to send you a dramatic 24-hour countdown email. I told them I'd write you an honest one instead. So here it is. Our End-of-Quarter FEC deadline is tomorrow at midnight. Those numbers, whatever they end up being, get filed on the permanent record and tell the …

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  Sean Casten · [email protected]

June 27, 2026 at 2:45 PM

💧 one drop ($1)

Paid for by Casten for Congress — Campaign for Sean Casten

I'm going to be completely honest with you. I'm asking you for $1. I recognize how that sounds. I'm going to be totally transparent with you, because this team has always appreciated my candor. Given everything we're up against right now, one donation to my campaign is a drop in the bucket. Now, tha…

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  Sean Casten · [email protected]

June 26, 2026 at 8:58 PM

Billions spent to restore the status quo.

Paid for by Casten for Congress — Campaign for Sean Casten

Meanwhile, I've been working on your actual energy bill. Folks — What has tens of billions in taxpayer dollars, soaring gas prices, a depleted arsenal, and the alienation of our closest allies actually bought us? Nothing. We're right back where we started. Just significantly poorer, significantly mo…

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  Chef Sean Casten · [email protected]

June 23, 2026 at 10:58 PM

Can you handle the heat? 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Paid for by Casten for Congress — Campaign for Sean Casten

Hey team, it's Sean Casten AKA Chef Sean. It's not officially summer in my house until I've started my annual batch of homegrown, hand-fermented hot sauce. (Don't knock it 'til you've tried it. This stuff has a cult following at this point.) Exhibit A: jars of peppers, fermenting away on my counter …

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  Sean Casten · [email protected]

June 21, 2026 at 2:55 PM

my least favorite part of this job

Paid for by Casten for Congress — Campaign for Sean Casten

Folks, I'll admit it. Fundraising is not my favorite part of this job. Sometimes I close my eyes and imagine a world where defending democracy doesn't require competing dollar-for-dollar with the MAGA-Industrial Complex and the billionaires bankrolling it. But that's not the world we live in. We liv…

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  Sean Casten · [email protected]

June 19, 2026 at 5:00 PM

Got a spare $6?

Paid for by Casten for Congress — Campaign for Sean Casten

Friend, I'm going to keep this one simple. Will you chip in just $6 today to help me defend this district? I know $6 doesn't sound like much in a political climate where billionaires are writing seven-figure checks to prop up MAGA candidates. But campaigns that are worth something aren't won by a ha…

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  Sean Casten · [email protected]

June 17, 2026 at 11:26 PM

Trump spent $60 million on a gladiator fight 🩸

Paid for by Casten for Congress — Campaign for Sean Casten

Folks, here's the math on Donald Trump's UFC fight at the White House: $60 million in taxpayer money, 7 federal agencies mobilized, all so the self-appointed Caesar of America could watch grown men bleed on his lawn. Prices are up. Job growth is flat. Pedophiles aren't being prosecuted. Meanwhile, t…

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  Sean Casten · [email protected]

June 16, 2026 at 2:18 PM

hello, neighbor 👋

Paid for by Casten for Congress — Campaign for Sean Casten

Friend, before I'm your Congressman, I'm your neighbor. I live here. I shop here. I get my coffee here (and yes, I have opinions about which place is best, but I'll keep those to myself to keep the peace). IL-06 has the kindest people, the best food, and the most legendary holiday parades in America…

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  Sean Casten · [email protected]

June 15, 2026 at 10:18 PM

heads up.

Paid for by Casten for Congress — Campaign for Sean Casten

Hey, quick heads up from your friendly neighborhood Congressman. We've officially hit the midpoint of June, which means the end of the quarter and the Federal Election Committee’s deadline is barreling toward us. You might be wondering why you should care about an accounting deadline and why so many…

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