Eric Sorensen

Eric Sorensen ( ; born March 18, 1976) is an American politician and meteorologist serving as the U.S. representative for since 2023. His district covers a large swath of western and central Illinois, centered around Moline, Rock Island, and the Illinois side of the Quad Cities. It also includes parts of Peoria and Rockford. A member of the Democratic Party, Sorensen is the first openly gay member of Congress from Illinois. He graduated from Boylan Catholic High School

Sorensen began his career as a meteorologist at KTRE, the ABC affiliate in Lufkin, Texas, from 1999 to 2000 before moving to Tyler, Texas, where he was the morning meteorologist for East Texas News Daybreak, which aired on both KLTV and KTRE-TV. He worked as chief meteorologist for WREX, Rockford's NBC affiliate, from 2003 to 2014, before becoming the senior meteorologist for WQAD, the ABC affiliate of Moline, Illinois. Sorensen became a fellow of the Society for Environmental Journalists in 2018.

Sorensen retired from television in 2021. Afterwards, he took a job in communications for UnityPoint Health before announcing his run for Congress.

U.S. House of Representatives Elections

2022

With Cheri Bustos not seeking re-election, Sorensen declared his candidacy for the United States House of Representatives for in the 2022 elections on November 10, 2021, as a member of the Democratic Party. Upon taking office in January 2023, Sorensen became only the second Democrat since 1927 to represent a significant portion of Peoria, and the second since the 1850s to represent a significant portion of Rockford.

2024

In the 2024 election, Sorensen defeated Republican nominee Joseph McGraw with 54.4% of the vote.

Tenure

Sorensen was sworn into office on January 7, 2023, as the U.S. representative for Illinois’s 17th congressional district. During the 118th Congress, he was appointed to the Agriculture and Science, Space, and Technology committees. In July, he secured the inclusion of $4.6 million for six Central Illinois infrastructure projects, ranging from flood mitigation to housing and water system upgrades, in two appropriations bills. In October, he co-introduced the bipartisan Upper Mississippi River Levee Safety Act to give local levee districts more flexibility in managing flood protections along the Mississippi River.

In March 2024, Sorensen secured $123 million for western Illinois infrastructure projects, including water main repairs, road improvements, and river navigation upgrades. In April, he co-introduced the bipartisan ONSHORE Act to help communities attract manufacturing investment by establishing a federal grant program to prepare undeveloped sites for strategically important industries.

In 2025, Sorensen was one of 46 House Democrats who joined all Republicans to vote for the Laken Riley Act.

Committee assignments

Sorensen's committee assignments for the 119th Congress include: Committee on Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation, Research, and Biotechnology Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities, Risk Management, and Credit Committee on Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces

Caucus memberships Sorensen's caucus memberships include: Congressional Equality Caucus (co-chair) New Democrat Coalition Labor Caucus Future Forum Heartland Caucus

Personal life Sorensen is the first openly gay person to be elected to Congress from Illinois. He lives with his partner in Moline.

2024