PRESS RELEASE - SCOTT A. BEST ANNOUNCES CANDIDACY—U.S. HOUSE, ILLINOIS DISTRICT 16
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SCOTT A. BEST FOR U.S. HOUSE – IL-16
August 8, 2025
Press & Media Inquiries: scottbestforcongress@outlook.com
Website: scottbestforcongress.com
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Scott A. Best Announces Candidacy – U.S. House, Illinois District 16
Working-Class Autoworker, Union Advocate, and Political Outsider Launches Grassroots Campaign to Take on the Establishment
OFFICIAL CAMPAIGN ANNOUNCEMENT – NORMAL, IL
I’m Scott A. Best, a 24-year-old autoworker, union advocate and organizer, and proud resident of Normal, Illinois – and today, I am officially announcing my candidacy for U.S. Congress in Illinois’ 16th District.
Let me blunt: I’m not a politician, and I have no intention of becoming one. I’m not backed by billionaires, party elites, lobbyists, or corporate donors. I’m a working-class American who’s lived the same daily struggle most of you know too well – grinding it out paycheck to paycheck, working long hours in places where respect is a luxury and your voice doesn’t matter. I know it because I’ve lived it.
Right now, I work on the shop floor at Rivian Automotive’s manufacturing assembly plant in Normal. I’ve seen how the system really works – not the polished version they show you in press releases, promotional videos and campaign ads, but the raw, brutal reality. I have witnessed firsthand in my time at Rivian, corporate executives comfortably shake-hands with out of touch politicians for photo-ops and tax breaks. Accepting hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer funded incentive packages, promising job creation and plant expansion, all the while ignoring unionization efforts by a workforce whose job security feels constantly threatened. With zero promises of improved working conditions. Ignoring the very workers who build the vehicles, fight for basic rights, and keep the damn lights on. I’ve had enough of performative politics and empty promises. It’s time we stop letting spineless career politicians dictate our future. I’m not going to Washington to play the game. I’m going there to tear the board off the table and give the power back to the people who built this country.
I’m not running for office to climb a ladder or collect a title. I’m running because I’m sick of watching our government work for the same rich, corporate autocrats who run our workplaces into the ground. I pledge to take direct aim at the corporate-captured political establishment, vowing to challenge the entrenched two-party system and demand transparency, accountability, and action. I’m tired of the lies, the lobbyists, and the lifeless politicians who sold us out for profit. While the rest of us are told to be patient, be quiet, and be grateful.
This campaign is about one thing: The People vs. The Establishment. And I’m not pulling any punches.
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I’m calling for a complete overhaul of federal labor laws – to strengthen union rights, guarantee paid sick leave, and put an end to the “live to work” mentality plaguing our national labor culture and driving people into the ground. I believe every American deserves a living wage, which is why I’m pushing for a $25/hour federal minimum wage, backed by real protections for working people. We are done being disposable.
Healthcare? It’s a human right. I support universal basic coverage, funded not by new taxes on the poor, but by cutting wasteful military spending, foreign aid, and endless war contracts. I’ll fight to cap prescription drug costs, shut down insurance company price-gouging, and bring healthcare access to rural communities that have been ignored for far too long.
The economy is rigged – and I intend to unrig it. I support a federal budget overhaul to slash waste, kill corporate tax loopholes, and reinvest in infrastructure, public education, affordable housing, and clean energy. That means ending the blank checks to the Pentagon and military-industrial complex, cutting foreign military aid to countries like Israel, and demanding a diplomatic-first foreign policy approach. I won’t allow another dime to fund war profiteering while American families can’t afford groceries or rent.
Investing in American working families, also means investing in our future. Education reform is essential. We need to reinstate and empower the Department of Education, fully fund public schools, pay teachers a real wage, and make trade, technical, and agricultural career paths just as valuable as four-year degrees. Standardized tests shouldn’t define our kids’ worth, and no teacher should ever have to pay for classroom supplies out-of-pocket.
I also demand justice for farmers. One of our most essential industries can also be one of our most overlooked. From equipment costs to exploitative tariffs and foreign market manipulation, American agriculture has been left to rot while corporations take over our food supply. I will push for a federal investment in family farming, stable crop pricing, and real protections against the predatory tactics of Big Ag.
On environmental policy, I support massive investment in clean energy – not just for the planet, but for the good-paying, union-protected jobs it can create. Wind, solar, EV’s, and hydrogen fuel tech should be accessible and affordable – and the companies who build them must meet strict labor and safety standards if they want government subsidies. No more tax dollars for corporations that treat workers like robots.
Veterans deserve considerably better treatment under a government that claims to hold them on such a high pedestal. Our veterans deserve a VA system that actually works – not endless backlogs, empty promises, and underfunded clinics. I will overhaul the VA, expand rural care, and simplify the claims process to give our veterans the support they’ve earned.
I support the federal legalization of marijuana, the immediate release of all non-violent cannabis offenders, and the creation of an independent board of medical professionals – not bureaucrats – to oversee cannabis regulation and research. Drug policy must be based on facts, not fear.
And the FDA? It’s broken. I will fight for an independent Food and Drug Safety Board to eliminate toxic additives like Red 40 and Yellow 5, ban known carcinogens, and stop Big Pharma and food conglomerates from poisoning our people for profit.
We must return power to the people. This includes once-and-for-all eliminating political gerontocracy in this country. It’s time for term limits, an age cap for elected officials, and a full ban on lobbying and corporate donations from federal contractors. Our government is rotting from the inside out, and I’m ready to go in and rip the mold out by the roots.
This campaign isn’t about left vs. right. It’s about top vs. bottom. The ruling class has failed us. The system is rigged to benefit the wealthy, the powerful, and the connected. I am running to tear that system down and build something better – not just for the working class, but BY the working class. I’m not going to D.C. to play nice. I’m not going there to ‘get along’ or be another cog in a broken machine. I’m going to call out the BS, shake the system, and put power BACK where it belongs – in your hands.
We are the ones who build the cars, grow the food, teach the children, care for the sick, fight the wars, and hold this country together – and we’re done being ignored.
So if you’re sick of the lies, the corruption, the excuses, and the plastic smiles from career politicians – join me.
Let’s shake the walls.
Let’s break the machine.
Let’s take our government back.
– Scott A. Best
Candidate for U.S. House – IL-16