Sender Profile

Sean Casten

Sean Casten represents Illinois’ 6th Congressional District, located in Chicago’s western suburbs. He is serving as a freshman in the 116th Congress, and is the first Democrat to represent the 6th District in nearly 50 years.

50+ Messages / Page

  Sean Casten · [email protected]
August 22, 2026 at 4:11 PM

you can't teach an old Congressman new tricks

[link removed] [[link removed]] 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 …
See More from Sean Casten
  Sean Casten · [email protected]
August 20, 2026 at 8:35 PM

6 reasons to support my campaign

[link removed] [[link removed]] 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.) Si…
See More from Sean Casten
  Sean Casten · [email protected]
August 18, 2026 at 3:10 PM

it's time we had The Talk 🐝

[link removed] [[link removed]] 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 …
See More from Sean Casten
  Brian Poindexter · [email protected]
August 16, 2026 at 2:20 PM

We're in the fight of our lives

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: Sean Casten said I c…
See More from Brian Poindexter
  Sean Casten · [email protected]
August 14, 2026 at 3:25 PM

$3. 3 seats. 3 months to win ‘em all.

[link removed] [[link removed]] 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…
See More from Sean Casten
  Sean Casten · [email protected]
August 12, 2026 at 7:35 PM

Repeal the whole damn thing

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 …
See More from Sean Casten
  Sean Casten · [email protected]
August 10, 2026 at 7:15 PM

5 Ways I Fought for You This Summer

Folks, kids aren't the only ones with summer assignments. Here's my report for the season: 🤝 [[link removed]] Introduced the bipartisan Stop Crypto ATM Scams Act to protect seniors from fraud 📊 [[link removed]] Introduced the Multi-Class Stock Company Voting Transparency Act to help retirement…
See More from Sean Casten
  Sean Casten · [email protected]
August 8, 2026 at 3:15 PM

How to actually fix a broken Congress

[link removed] [[link removed]] 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 ca…
See More from Sean Casten
  Sean Casten · [email protected]
August 6, 2026 at 6:36 PM

the frog doesn’t know it’s boiling 🐸

[link removed] [[link removed]] 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. I…
See More from Sean Casten
  Sean Casten · [email protected]
August 4, 2026 at 10:05 PM

No-call, no-show

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 except…
See More from Sean Casten
  Sean Casten · [email protected]
August 2, 2026 at 3:15 PM

pop quiz, hotshots 🧠

Hey, quick test. No pressure. 1. Who is the president of Ukraine? 2. What's the official name of Iran's government? 3. What's the name of the 2015 agreement that limited Iran's nuclear program? 4. At a summit of world leaders, are you a fellow head of state, or "the boss"? If you answer…
See More from Sean Casten
  Sean Casten · [email protected]
July 31, 2026 at 10:02 PM

A quick physics lesson. Then a $25 ask.

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 threshold, nothing happens. Hit …
See More from Sean Casten
  Sean Casten · [email protected]
July 30, 2026 at 8:34 PM

we need to catch 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 gave a primetime addr…
See More from Sean Casten
  Sean Casten · [email protected]
July 28, 2026 at 8:16 PM

I've had enough

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…
See More from Sean Casten
  Sean Casten · [email protected]
July 26, 2026 at 9:34 PM

an honest update from me.

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?…
See More from Sean Casten
  Sean Casten · [email protected]
July 24, 2026 at 9:50 PM

Casten call

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 greenlit. (I won't name names. I'm a Congre…
See More from Sean Casten
  Sean Casten · [email protected]
July 23, 2026 at 4:30 PM

Over and over and over again. ☀️

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 over years of unprotected exposure until one day it's not just a sunburn…
See More from Sean Casten
  Sean Casten · [email protected]
July 21, 2026 at 3:15 PM

My Roman Empire

[link removed] [[link removed]] 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…
See More from Sean Casten
  Sean Casten · [email protected]
July 18, 2026 at 8:36 PM

My summer reading pile (send help)

[link removed] [[link removed]] 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 squee…
See More from Sean Casten
  Sean Casten · [email protected]
July 16, 2026 at 9:16 PM

Let's Flip the House

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. 1. Assess the damage. 2. Make a plan. 3. Put in the work. 4. Flip it. So let's see if that process could apply …
See More from Sean Casten
  Sean Casten · [email protected]
July 15, 2026 at 8:16 PM

🌶️ From mild to HOT: our July meter

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…
See More from Sean Casten
  Sean Casten · [email protected]
July 12, 2026 at 9:15 PM

3 hot messes 🌡️

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…
See More from Sean Casten
  Sean Casten · [email protected]
July 10, 2026 at 10:05 PM

Thanks, neighbor

[link removed] [[link removed]] 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 ar…
See More from Sean Casten
  Sean Casten · [email protected]
July 8, 2026 at 10:45 PM

meet the three horsemen of the anti-democracy apocalypse

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 60-7…
See More from Sean Casten
  Sean Casten · [email protected]
July 6, 2026 at 10:10 PM

What's on the grill? 🔥

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 heat. Too low and nothing cooks. Too high and you'v…
See More from Sean Casten
  Sean Casten · [email protected]
July 4, 2026 at 4:30 PM

250 candles. 🕯️

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 figuring out what tha…
See More from Sean Casten
  Sean Casten · [email protected]
June 30, 2026 at 9:55 PM

The Supreme Coup strikes again

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 it. I'm not going to p…
See More from Sean Casten
  Sean Casten · [email protected]
June 29, 2026 at 11:18 PM

🚨 24 hours

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 story of where thi…
See More from Sean Casten
  Sean Casten · [email protected]
June 27, 2026 at 2:45 PM

💧 one drop ($1)

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.💧 [[link removed]] Now, that might sound lik…
See More from Sean Casten
  Sean Casten · [email protected]
June 26, 2026 at 8:58 PM

Billions spent to restore the status quo.

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 more isolated, and with a far more volatile relations…
See More from Sean Casten
  Chef Sean Casten · [email protected]
June 23, 2026 at 10:58 PM

Can you handle the heat? 🌶️🌶️🌶️

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 co…
See More from Chef Sean Casten
  Sean Casten · [email protected]
June 21, 2026 at 2:55 PM

my least favorite part of this job

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 l…
See More from Sean Casten
  Sean Casten · [email protected]
June 19, 2026 at 5:00 PM

Got a spare $6?

Friend, I'm going to keep this one simple. Will you chip in just $6 today to help me defend this district? [[link removed]] 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 somet…
See More from Sean Casten
  Sean Casten · [email protected]
June 17, 2026 at 11:26 PM

Trump spent $60 million on a gladiator fight 🩸

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…
See More from Sean Casten
  Sean Casten · [email protected]
June 16, 2026 at 2:18 PM

hello, neighbor 👋

[link removed] [[link removed]] 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 mos…
See More from Sean Casten
  Sean Casten · [email protected]
June 15, 2026 at 10:18 PM

heads up.

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 m…
See More from Sean Casten
  Sean Casten · [email protected]
June 11, 2026 at 11:04 PM

enough

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. The only way out o…
See More from Sean Casten
  Sean Casten · [email protected]
June 9, 2026 at 11:15 PM

1,790 votes

[link removed] [[link removed]] I won my very first Congressional primary by just 1,790 votes. For reference, that's about 4% of the seats at Wrigley Field. A close shave by any measure and a lesson I've never forgotten: don't get comfortable, and never take a single vote for granted. I thi…
See More from Sean Casten
  Sean Casten · [email protected]
June 7, 2026 at 3:03 PM

the numbers don't lie (Trump does)

I'm a numbers guy. I always have been. So when I see a chart like this, I don't see politics. I see receipts. [link removed] [[link removed]] Take a good look: Donald Trump has presided over the weakest GDP growth of any American president since Herbert Hoover. Hoover . As in, the guy whose na…
See More from Sean Casten
  Sean Casten · [email protected]
June 5, 2026 at 7:40 PM

End of School Year Report Card

It's that time of year. Kids are finishing exams, teachers are finally exhaling, and parents everywhere are bracing for the report card. Well, I've got mine, and I wanted to share it with you. Thanks to this team, we crossed the fundraising finish line in May, hitting our goal with folks like …
See More from Sean Casten
  Sean Casten · [email protected]
June 2, 2026 at 10:16 PM

Tough Conversations

I have a confession. I love the questions that make people squirm. Not because I enjoy watching folks squirm. But because the questions that make politicians hedge and suddenly need to "circle back with their team" are almost always the ones that matter most. Is climate change real, or just a …
See More from Sean Casten
  Casten for Congress · [email protected]
May 31, 2026 at 2:35 PM

sorry, but it’s 🎶🎶 Closing Time 🎶🎶

Yeah, yeah, we know this is cheesy…but now it’s stuck in your head, so won’t you sing along? Closing time, it’s our May fundraising deadline , And we haven’t quite made our goal. Closing time, help Sean past the finish line So he can hit the ground running in June. Closing time, one last …
See More from Casten for Congress
  Sean Casten · [email protected]
May 30, 2026 at 6:49 PM

my finance team made me do it

Look, I'll be straight with you, folks. This email wasn't on my agenda today. I had every intention of giving your inbox a much-needed rest this weekend. But my finance team flagged something I can't ignore: we've got a fundraising gap heading into our end-of-month deadline, and the clock is r…
See More from Sean Casten
  Sean Casten · [email protected]
May 28, 2026 at 2:01 PM

The Second Law of MAGA Thermodynamics 🔬

Bear with me, friends. The engineer in me needs a moment. There's a principle in thermodynamics called entropy. In plain English: systems left to themselves tend toward disorder. Things fall apart. Without new energy coming in, the whole thing degrades. [link removed] [[link removed]] Sound…
See More from Sean Casten
  Sean Casten · [email protected]
May 27, 2026 at 8:07 PM

angry men in robes

Friend, Make no mistake: the agenda of this Supreme Court and the agenda of the Ku Klux Klan are far too similar. Gutting the Voting Rights Act, blessing gerrymandered maps designed to silence minority voters, and declaring that we now live in a "color-blind society." These are the kinds of actio…
See More from Sean Casten
  Sean Casten · [email protected]
May 23, 2026 at 4:46 PM

Look on my works, ye

A traveler from an antique land once described a shattered statue, half-buried in the sand. This was all that remained of a king who'd called himself the greatest of them all. I've been thinking of that story a lot lately. Percy Shelley wrote Ozymandias in 1818, but it’s never been more relevant.…
See More from Sean Casten
  Sean Casten · [email protected]
May 21, 2026 at 9:30 PM

allow me to reintroduce myself

[link removed] [[link removed]] Hi! Sean Casten here. Congressman. Engineer. Dad. Amateur pianist. Certified '90s rap enthusiast. And yes, the guy who once recited Fergie lyrics on the House floor to get people to care about clean energy legislation. I also make my own fermented hot sauce from…
See More from Sean Casten
  Sean Casten · [email protected]
May 20, 2026 at 9:31 PM

Look on my works, ye

A traveler from an antique land once described a shattered statue, half-buried in the sand. This was all that remained of a king who'd called himself the greatest of them all. I've been thinking of that story a lot lately. Percy Shelley wrote Ozymandias in 1818, but it’s never been more relevant.…
See More from Sean Casten
  Sean Casten · [email protected]
May 19, 2026 at 5:16 PM

your electricity bill just went up. here’s why.

Since Trump took office, household energy prices are up 13% nationwide. Some of that is policy. Some of it is the fossil fuel industry doing what the fossil fuel industry does. And some of it is energy traders who manipulate markets for profit, knowing the penalties are light enough to ignore. …
See More from Sean Casten
  Sean Casten · [email protected]
May 15, 2026 at 8:41 PM

the House Rules 🃏

In a casino, the House always wins. In our House, the one at the end of Pennsylvania Avenue, the rules seem to change depending on who’s dealing. That's why the news that White House lawyers are preparing for a Democratic Congress caught my eye. Someone in that building finally did the math an…
See More from Sean Casten
The Archive of Political Emails is a project of Defending Democracy Together Institute. Please email [email protected] with any questions.