Scott Best, a 24-year-old Auto Worker and Union Organizer, is challenging U.S. Representative Darin LaHood for Illinois’ 16th Congressional District in the 2026 Election. Best vows “to take the fight directly to the corporate and political establishment.” The resident of Central Illinois, who currently works at Rivian Automotive’s Assembly Plant in Normal, says: “I’m a proud Auto Worker and Union Organizer - and I know firsthand that America’s Labor System is broken. We need a complete overhaul of Federal Labor Laws to put Workers first, not corporate profits.” If elected, Best wants to: Dramatically strengthen Union bargaining power; Criminalize Union-Busting with real penalties; Enforce mandatory Paid Sick Leave (separate from Paid Time Off); Shift the national Labor mindset to “work to live, not live to work;” Pass legislation to secure better benefits, safer conditions and enforceable labor protections across all industries; and Mandate a $25-an-hour Federal Minimum Wage as “no American should be scraping by while billionaires thrive.” “This isn’t Left versus Right - it’s top versus bottom,” he said. “We are the ones who build the cars, grow the food, teach the kids, care for the sick, and hold this country together. We’re done being ignored. It’s time to shake the walls, break the machine and take our government back.”

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