Holocaust denier Arthur Jones, pictured, has drawn a challenger in the Chicago-area race. | Marcus DiPaola/Chicago Sun-Times via AP Nazi candidate draws write-in challenger in Chicago district Justin Hanson launched a write-in campaign against the Republican nominee.

CHICAGO — A former Republican congressional staffer is launching an independent write-in campaign in the Chicago-area district where an avowed Nazi will be on the ballot in November representing the party.

Lawyer and former congressional aide Justin Hanson, of LaGrange, Illinois, said he decided to throw his hat in the ring as a write-in candidate for the 3rd Congressional District after becoming incensed at seeing Holocaust denier Arthur Jones on the ballot.


"I'm running because I don't believe men like Art Jones should be allowed to go unchallenged," Hanson said in an interview. "I'm running to give residents of this community a choice. Because as it stands now, they don't have one."

Hanson faces incumbent Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.), who took over representing the district from his father in 2005, and Jones, a Nazi who ran unopposed in the primary when the GOP couldn't come up with another candidate. Republicans have denounced Jones, and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) even urged residents to vote Democratic to avoid showing any kind of support to Jones' Nazi views.

Hanson calls Lipinski, the Democrat, “a nice man,” but argues that “he hasn't done as much for the district as he could have."

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Because he joined the race too late to be included on the ballot, voters will have to write in Hanson's name.

"We know it will be a challenge, but this is an extraordinary circumstance, and I think voters recognize that," he said.

Hanson grew up in the Chicago suburbs of Hickory Hills and Palos Hills before attending college at Marquette University. He worked in Washington for Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) when he was House whip, and as a policy analyst for former Rep. Adam Putnam when the Floridian was House Republican Conference chairman.

Hanson returned to Chicago to earn a law degree from Chicago-Kent College of Law and said he was recruited out of law school by a big law firm. He later worked for the Cook County State's Attorney's office in the civil actions bureau doing civil rights work and constitutional law. He was promoted to the complex litigation unit, where he represented prosecutors, police officers and elected officials in cases against them. He's now at Gould & Ratner, a corporate litigation firm.

"I always saw politics as a great career,” Hanson said, noting his great-grandfather was a town mayor for 40 years. “Your job is to help communities move along and help people have a better quality of life. It seemed like a calling. It's one that's always been in the back of my mind.

"I've moved to the center since I left the bubble of the Hill," he said of his time in D.C. "I understand how policies affect everyday people and how Washington is seen from the outside. It's had a positive effect on my perspective on policies and politics."

Hanson said he was stunned that Jones received some 21,000 votes in the primary.

Hanson and his wife, Lindsay, whom he met while working in Washington, decided to act.

"We cleared out a space above our garage for our campaign headquarters and haven't gone to sleep before 2 a.m. since" starting the independent campaign 3½ weeks ago.

He's planning an Aug. 11 rally to promote his write-in campaign. Lindsay, a recent MBA grad from Chicago-Booth, is campaign manager.

"We think we can give this district a real choice," Hanson said.