Congresswoman Lauren Underwood serves Illinois’ 14th Congressional District. Lauren is the first woman, the first person of color, and the first millennial to represent her community in Congress. She is also the youngest African American woman to serve in the United States House of Representatives.
Lauren was the only woman and the only person of color in the 7-person Democratic primary in March 2017. Lauren won the primary with 57.4 percent support and won the 2018 general election by a 5 percent margin. The incumbent in 2017 was Rep. Randy Hultgren (R), who had been in office since 2011.
Lauren is a registered nurse with the unique perspective as a practitioner and former administrator at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services during the Obama administration. In addition to her commitment to ensure that all Americans have access to high quality affordable health care, Lauren is committed to increasing the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour, fully funding public schools to eliminate the school to prison pipeline and limiting the excessive militarization of community police forces.
Congresswoman Underwood serves several House Committees: Education and Labor, the Veteran’s Affairs, Homeland Security and the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee. She is a member of the Future Forum, a group of young Democratic Members of Congress committed to listening to and standing up for the next generation of Americans, the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), and the LGBT Equality Caucus. As a strong supporter of addressing the gun violence epidemic, Congresswoman Underwood is a member of the Congressional Gun Violence Prevention Taskforce.
Congresswoman Underwood graduated from Neuqua Valley High School and is a lifelong Girl Scout. She resides in Naperville, Illinois.