Eric Sorensen changed channels in spring 2021 from starring on sunny local TV to running for Congress in a stormy midterm election season.
In a campaign ad at the time, Sorensen, a former Quad Cities meteorologist, told Illinois viewers whose votes he was seeking that "after a 22-year career as a weatherman, some things stay with you."
Sorensen, a Democrat who has served in Congress since 2023, recalled in a recent interview with USA TODAY, "I tell people back home, I got to Washington without – it wasn't just political baggage – I didn't even have a political carry-on."
The two-term congressman is now campaigning for a third term amid a bipartisan lineup of candidates across the country who are also wielding their breaking news bona fides to serve in a stalled House.
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