GOP chooses Davis for US Rep. Tim Johnson’s seat
Republican officials on Saturday chose Rodney Davis — an aide to U.S. Rep. John Shimkus — as the November ballot replacement for longtime U.S. Rep. Tim Johnson, who dropped his re-election bid earlier this year.
Davis, of Taylorville, was one of four candidates that the GOP chairmen from 14 counties considered for the newly created 13th District, which stretches across parts of central and southwestern Illinois.
“The Committee is unanimous in their support for Davis and looks forward to working closely with him to win the 13th Congressional District and maintain the Republican majority in Washington, D.C.,” said a statement from the chairmen, who met in Springfield.
Davis will take on Democrat David Gill, a Bloomington physician, in November.
“I welcome him to the race,” said Gill, who has said he plans to reject funding from corporate PACs and will challenge his Republican opponent to do the same.
“When we have representatives in Washington that are funded by ordinary systems, then we can have good things happen for ordinary people,” he said.
Davis did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
The three other GOP candidates were Johnson’s former chief of staff, Jerry Clarke, attorney and former Miss America Erika Harold and Macoupin County business owner Kathy Wassink.
The candidates appeared at forums across the district in the weeks leading up to the decision. The forums were an effort to give party members a chance to tell their local leaders who they preferred in a situation where they wouldn’t otherwise have a say in the choice, state GOP Chairman Pat Brady said. The events also gave the candidates — none of whom is a household name — a chance to build name recognition.
“That’s a big benefit,” Brady said. “We wanted to make it as fair, open and transparent as we could.”
Raising money, Brady said, will be Davis’ top priority.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has identified Illinois as key to picking up 25 Democratic seats to regain control of the U.S. House.
Champaign County Republican Party chairman Habeeb Habeeb estimated it will take $1.5 million to $2 million to win the race.
“And it may go farther than that if the Democrats throw more money into it,” he said. He added that the ability to raise money was one of a handful of key factors that influenced his decision, along with Davis’ ability to build enthusiasm among GOP voters and quickly develop a mastery of the issues and the district.
Johnson announced his surprise retirement in April after more than four decades in politics and 12 years in Congress. He said he was ready to spend time with his family — the 65-year-old has nine children from three marriages and more than a dozen grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Johnson said he first thought of retiring late last year as a last-minute vote in Washington forced him to miss a family holiday outing. Johnson, who was accustomed to limited opposition, also was facing a re-election campaign in a district that stretched Urbana to the suburbs east of St. Louis.
He earned a reputation as an independent-minded Republican, breaking with his party on support of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and saying earlier this year that he backed longshot presidential candidate Ron Paul. He was also the only member of Illinois Republican congressional delegation who didn’t object to the new state congressional map, which many Republicans complained Democrats had drawn to favor themselves.