Regan Deering, who lost a bid for congress last year, plans to run for the Illinois House.
Deering has launched her campaign for the 88th House District, a seat currently held by Dan Caulkins of Decatur, who says he won’t seek a fourth term.
The district includes portions of Macon, Piatt, McLean and DeWitt counties.
Deering, a Republican, is the granddaughter of Dwayne Andreas, who helped build Archer Daniels Midland into an agribusiness giant. She has been a businesswoman and worked with several organizations, including as chair of the Decatur Public School Foundation. She was elected to the Mount Zion School Board earlier this year.
In a statement announcing her bid for the state legislature, Deering said she is fed up with the current political class that governs Illinois.
“I will not sit by and let them destroy our great state,” she added.
“I am running because I'm afraid for my children's future in Pritzker's Illinois. Families here pay some of the highest taxes in the nation. They struggle to find quality education for their children and live in communities plagued by violence. Extreme Democrats are forcing their radical values into our homes and schools, relentlessly attacking our cherished freedoms, and destroying our jobs and economy.”
Deering was one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit that ended the Pritzker Administration’s COVID requirement for children to wear masks in schools. She calls herself a “common sense conservative.” During her campaign for congress, Deering stated she voted twice for former President Donald Trump.
“For nearly two decades, my husband and I have built our lives in Decatur, working, raising our three amazing children, and contributing to our community. We aren't leaving, and we shouldn't have to,” her latest campaign statement said.
Former GOP State Representative Dan Brady of Bloomington mentioned he was considering a run for the 88th District. Brady, who lost a bid for Illinois Secretary of State in 2022, is also mulling a potential run for the 17th Congressional District.
