Galesburg Reporter

Rafael "Ray" Estrada has announced his candidacy to challenge freshman U.S. Congressman Eric Sorensen, a Democrat, in Illinois' 17th District in the November 2024 election.

Estrada is a businessman and philanthropist from Galesburg. He fled political turmoil in Nicaragua amid a takeover by communist and socialist forces before finding a home in Chicago.

“I believe that the United States is the greatest country in the world. I'm very grateful that it gave me a chance to succeed, to raise a wonderful family, to enjoy all of the blessings that we have here,” Estrada told WRAM. “And unfortunately, I can see too many similarities with what's going on right now in what I have seen in other countries that have been victims, let's say, or consumed by socialism. So that's basically one of the  greatest reasons that I have decided to go ahead and run for Congress.”

He expressed the dangers of the type of socialist thinking that has taken hold of Democrats.

“Socialism usually creeps into societies by dividing its citizens, by creating resentment among citizens from one to the other, those that have and those that have not,” Estrada said. “Back in the 50s in Cuba, one of the things that Fidel Castro always hailed and said, look, he wanted to be a hero for the common folk, etc., and always said, well, you know, 'We need to work on social justice.' So when I hear that term, it kind of sends chills, you know, in my bones, that's one of that's how it comes in one's socialism. Once they have power, they will take over the institutions. They will go ahead and infiltrate law enforcement, the judicial system, and also government agencies and institutions that are supposed to be apolitical, meaning without any preference to party or politics.”

Estrada noted that one of the issues that socialism really goes into is the country's education system.

"They no longer teach about math and science,” he said. "They teach about, you know, social justice. They teach about other ideologies that have nothing to do with STEM disciplines, meaning science, technology, engineering, mathematics.

“They politicize the whole education system, and I think that's unquestionable. I mean, that's going on right now here in our country. I think it's alarming when I listen to, I mean, these are good people, but they're not really paying attention to the gravity of the situation. When I heard that math was racist, to me, that was shocking. We need to learn math. We need to learn mathematics. My daughter majored in mathematics at Augustana. She's a grad student at DePaul University now.”

During the interview, Estrada also shared his personal take on socialism.

"Socialism can be better, best described when the state will go ahead and take over all of the opportunities and resources that its citizens need to thrive on their own,” he said. "So they are now a society of dependency, but they are a society of success that they can go ahead and provide to their families what they need. Provide them the American dream, provide them the opportunity.

“That's the one thing that people need, is the opportunity to go ahead and better themselves. Socialism will take that away from them and they will say, ‘Look, if you think like I do, if you do what I want you to do, then we will go ahead and let you thrive a bit, but only and only as long as you are submitted.’ Then you're submissive to the ideology of the state.”

When he came to Chicago, Estrada attended Lincoln Middle School and Winston Churchill School. He later graduated from Augustana College with a B.A. in political science and then from North Park University with an MBA.

Estrada is the president of the nonprofit Estrada Global Foundation, through which he aims to address issues such as struggling families, limited opportunities and the division caused by extremists and adversaries. Estrada's foundation has provided aid to refugees and displaced citizens in various countries and has supplied meals to needy families in western Illinois.

“I'm also very concerned about the economy as well, we have seen way too many families that are struggling right now to get groceries, to go ahead and pay for gas," he said. "One of the things that we have been doing for the last six years, it's our foundation, Estrada Global Foundation, and we have helped refugees in different parts of the world, including Europe and Latin America. But also we've been helping families here in central Illinois. I think we counted up about 500,000 meals that we have delivered to folks here in our area.”

Estrada's platform for Congress focuses on creating financial security, building safer communities, securing borders, standing up against bullies, rebuilding core institutions, and ensuring that future generations have the same opportunities and values; a Shaw Local News Network report said.

Estrada was the first Republican to announce a campaign in the 17th District, according to the McLean County Times. Former state representative Dan Brady is also considering running for the same district. The 17th Congressional District, which is currently represented by Democrat Eric Sorensen, is seen as a potentially winnable district for Republicans in 2024. Brady is also contemplating running for the newly drawn 88th House District, where the incumbent representative will not seek reelection.

The 17th District encompasses most of northwestern Illinois, including Whiteside and Carroll counties, as well as parts of Rockford and Peoria; according to Ballotpedia.