TROY, Ill. – The Illinois primary elections turned out to be a resounding endorsement of candidates supported by former President Donald Trump. It capped a day of confusion and surprises.
Confusion abounded in the newly redrawn congressional districts that border St. Louis. Perhaps nowhere more than Troy, Illinois. Voters frequently ended up at the wrong polling place, which was understandable.
Troy’s current Congressman is Republican, Mike Bost. Though he’s running for reelection he was not on the ballot in Troy. Voters there were instead deciding between Republican Congressman, Rodney Davis, and Republican Congresswoman, Mary Miller.
Both are incumbents (Davis 5 terms, Miller 1 term). State Democrats redrew the district maps hoping to eliminate a Republican seat in Congress. Troy is in the new 15th district. Miller, of Oakland, IL, ran for reelection in the district, though under the new map, she no longer lives there.
Davis, of Taylorville, is currently the 13th District Congressman. He now lives in the new 15th. He ran against Miller. She led by 13% (more than 16,000 votes) with 99% counted as of late Tuesday night. Davis conceded the race early in the evening. Both sought the endorsement of former President Trump. Miller got it. Mr. Trump campaigned for her and the Republican candidate for Governor, State Senator, Darren Bailey, at an event outside of Quincy over the weekend.
“These are people like President Trump,” Miller said in her election day interview with Fox 2. “They love America. They appreciate the America first agenda. They want secure borders. They want our gas and energy going full throttle. They want parents to be able to advocate for their children.”
Miller will face long-shot Democrat, Paul Lange, who ran unopposed.
Bailey won by an even larger margin than Miller: A surprising landslide, leading a five-candidate field with a whopping 57% of the vote and a margin of more than 310,000 votes as of late Tuesday night.
During his victory party speech in Effingham, Bailey said, “I can promise you this, I will work circles around Pritzker. With your help, we will win again in November!”
Pritzker told a crowd at his Chicago victory party, “A few days ago, Donald Trump came to our state. He did what he does best: spew bile on the ground on the ground and hope that it takes root in our state. Proudly standing by his side was the Republican nominee for Governor of Illinois, Darren Bailey.”
GOP races for the new 13th Congressional which now includes Belleville, East St. Louis, Alton, Edwardsville, and runs through Springfield and Champaign, remained too close to call late Tuesday night. Regan Deering led Jesse Reising by about 600 votes, with 94% counted. Democrat, Nikki Budzinski, won easily, with 77% of the vote.
In the GOP U.S. Senate race, Kathy Salvi, led by a 5% margin over Peggy Hubbard, (nearly 40,000 votes) with 97% counted, late Tuesday night. If she holds on, she will face incumbent Democrat, Tammy Duckworth.