Illinois 13th Congressional District Rep. Rodney Davis

Despite his new, higher profile in Washington, D.C., incumbent Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Taylorville) could face a formidable challenge from Democrats in Illinois’ 13th U.S.  Congressional District next year.

Hoping to reverse Southern Illinois’ swing toward the GOP in recent years, the national Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee will again be targeting the 12th and 13th Districts during the Nov. 6, 2018 general election. Both districts were Democratic strongholds in the past.

Four Democrats have so far announced publicly they hope to win their party’s nomination for the 13th District during next year’s March 20 primary election:

–  Edwardsville attorney Erik Jones

— Physician and past 13th District congressional candidate David Gill,

— Democratic fundraiser Betsy Dirksen Londrigan, and

— Educator Benjamin Webb.

Additional candidates are rumored to be considering a run in the district.  The filing deadline is Dec. 1, 2017.

After surviving a June 14 shooting attack on a GOP practice for a Washington charity baseball game, Rep. Davis has over recent weeks has emerged as a national advocate for a more restrained and respectful political climate — sometimes wearing a purple tie to public appearances as a symbol of bipartisanship.  Staff members say Rep. Davis has a record of working across the aisle to pass legislation.

However, many Democrats still see him primarily as supporter of Republican efforts to cut spending or healthcare and social programs.

Though currently an attorney in private practice Jones, 37, has served as an investigator for both congressional committees and the Illinois Attorney General; specializing in waste and corruption cases.

He is a former chief investigative counsel for the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee as well as a past investigative counsel for the House Committee on Oversight.

While working for the Oversight Committee, he led an investigation into the federal response to Hurricane Katrina. That investigation found the Federal Emergency Management Agency had knowingly used mobile homes, with high levels of formaldehyde, as emergency housing. That resulted in health problems among the hurricane-stricken population.

Illinois’ 13th Congressional District
(Map courtesy of U.S. Geological Survey)

Jones joins emergency physician and past congressional candidate David Gill of Bloomington, Betsy Dirksen Londrigan of Springfield — a contract fundraiser for both political candidates and private entities — and educator Benjamin Webb of Normal in the field for the Democratic nomination in the 13^th District.

Jones announced his candidacy with a July 24 news release.

Gill is a Bloomington emergency room physician who lost to Rep. Davis in the 2012 general election by a mere 0.3 percent. He has sought the 13th District seat five times in past.  He was named assistant director of the Illinois Department of Public Health by then Gov. Pat Quinn in 2013.

“I’ve made no secret of my differences with Democratic party leadership in the past. But the emergency we now face, with a President such as Donald Trump, is a true threat to our republic,” Gill states on his campaign website (www.davidgill2018.com),

Dr. Gill is a 20-year member of the Physicians for a National Health Program, an organization of 20,000 doctors which advocates for an Improved Medicare for All program, and a longtime member of Physicians for Reproductive Health.

Although she has never run for office before, Londrigan, of Springfield, has been active in Democratic political campaigns for more than 20 years, according to a press release on her candidacy.

For the past seven years she has worked as a fundraiser for Democratic figures including U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). She has also raised funds for entities such as the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation, the Children’s Miracle Network, and St. John’s Children’s Hospital.

She is the co-founder of Women Rising, an organization established to recruit and support female candidates for state and local office.

Webb, of Normal, says he would use his experience as an educator to become a legislator-teacher who would provide on pressing issues and gather input from constituents using digital technology. He is a high school English and Theatre teacher in the Laboratory Schools at Illinois State University. He has taught in Champaign and Rock Island where he attended Augustana College for undergraduate studies in Education and Theatre.

“With such a wide range of educational perspectives, as well as the lessons taught from my parents, family, colleagues, and friends, I have been shaped into the educator I am today. A diversity of opinions and perspectives help inform my practice, leadership, and decision making. I feel government should operate similarly in order to best serve and reflect the views of the people,” Webb says on his campaign website.

Three of Washington’s most respected election handicappers — the Cook Political Report, Sabato’s Crystal Ball, and Inside Elections — have all classified the 2018 political climate in 13th District as “likely” though not “solidly” Republican.

— Illinois’ 13th District Congressional race heats up —