About Illinois 13th Congressional District:
Illinois is divided into 18 congressional districts, each represented by a member of the United States House of Representatives. You can see all of those representatives here.
Champaign County actually exists in both the 13th and 15th Congressional District, and Rep. Rodney Davis (R) is our current representative for the 13th. The following counties are considered to be part of the 13th (even partially like Champaign County): Bond, Calhoun, Champaign, Christian, De Witt, Greene, Jersey, Macon, Macoupin, Madison, McClean, Montgomery, Piatt, and Sanagmon.
Betsy Dirksen Londrigan ran against incumbant Rep. Davis in 2018, losing my the slimmest of margins, and announced she would run again in 2020 in a second attempt to unseat Davis.
Londrigan was born and raised in Springfield, Illinois, which is where she currently resides. She graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and has worked for Teach for America and in the non-profit sector. She defeated Stefanie Smith in the 2020 Democratic Primary.
Here’s a note from her website:
I’m not a politician. My family is rooted in Central Illinois, and it is clear that Washington has fundamentally lost touch with us. I’m running because everything is at stake — access to quality and affordable healthcare, an economy that prioritizes the middle class, and a Congress that isn’t controlled by special interests.
Rep. Rodney Davis is from Des Moines, Iowa, and graduated from Millikin in Dectaur. The Republican incumbant worked on John Shimkus’ staff at one point during his successful re-election campaign in the late 1990s, eventually running for congress himself. Davis was elected as the representative in the 13th district in 2012, defeating Democrat David Gill, and has held the seat ever since. Davis’ platform typically pushes decreasing government spending, agriculture, lowering taxes, job creation, and more.
From Davis’ re-election website:
I believe government officials should be accountable to those we serve. As Vice Chair of the Committee on House Administration, I led reforms that strengthened spending controls on members of Congress’ office budgets and made the House the most transparent entity within the federal government. I’ve also introduced and supported good-government bills like the Protecting Taxpayers from Corruption Act, to prevent the abuse of workers’ compensation and create more transparency within government, and the End Government Shutdowns Act, to stop crisis governing.
Londrigan and Davis are participating in a debate on October 5th, which you can read more about here.
Top image photos from (l) Rodney Davis’ website and (r) Betsy Dirksen Londrigan’s website.
