© 2024 NPR Illinois
The Capital's Community & News Service
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Republican Davis Wins 13th Congressional Rematch

U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis claims victory in his bid for re-election over Betsy Dirksen Londrigan.
U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis claims victory in his bid for re-election over Betsy Dirksen Londrigan.

U.S. Representative Rodney Davis has won a fifth term to represent the 13th Congressional District. He faced Democrat Betsy Dirksen Londrigan in a rematch of their close 2018 race.

In his victory speech late last night, Davis returned to familiar themes of his campaign – bipartisanship and healthcare.

“We're going to fight to make sure that the Democrats or the Republicans, if we're in the majority, are going to codify pre-existing condition coverage protections for every single American,” Davis said. “This isn't a Republican or a Democratic issue. This issue is a personal issue to me.”

Davis also promised to support the agriculture industry and get a national infrastructure plan approved. But he said his top priority is addressing COVID-19. He said Londrigan ran a "spirited race" and thanked his staff and supporters.

The Associated Press called the race late in the evening. Early Wednesday morning, the AP reported Davis had a ten-point lead over Londrigan, with 170,758 to her 142,076.

In her concession statement, Londrigan said she was proud of the campaign she ran.

“At every turn when hurdles were thrown up, we figured out how to clear them and keep running strong. I wish we had been able to clear this last hurdle,” she said.

Londrigan, a professional fundraiser and former teacher, focused on healthcare, often invoking her son’s life-threating illness that he was hospitlized for. She said wanting to protect health insurance for families is why she decided to run in 2018, and often attacked Davis for repeatedly voting to repeal the Affordable Care Act, with no replacement legislation on deck.

Londrigan plans to formally concede in a speech at 11 a.m. Wednesday.

While during the campaign Davis tried to distance himself from President Donald Trump, in his election night remarks, he said the president’s supporters helped him win the race.

“You saw a surge in areas that were supporting the president. And that surge actually helped me,” Davis said. “I'd like to think that we helped each other in a lot of the areas of this district.”

Strong support in Macon, Macoupin and Madison counties helped push Davis over the edge.

Democrats hoped to flip the district, and national money flowed into the campaign. But Londrigan was not able to capitalize on the same “Blue Wave” that helped her nearly defeat Davis in 2018.

Mary Hansen is a former NPR Illinois reporter.