Jennifer Davis: 2026 candidate for the 8th Congressional District

Bio

Office sought: 8th Congressional District

Party: Republican

City: Huntley

Age: 55

Previous offices held: None

Q&A

What is your view on the role of tariffs in the American economy? Do you support the president’s policies on setting tariffs on goods from other countries?

Tariffs are a tool, not a religion. Used well, they can protect American workers and force cheaters to play by the rules. Used as a substitute for real policy, they raise prices while Congress does nothing. That is the DC pattern: kick the can, issue an executive order, then let it sit in court for years while families pay more at the store. That is not leadership. That is an excuse.

I support tariffs when they serve a clear American interest—especially against countries that steal DATA, dump goods, and hollow out our industrial base. I do not support treating them as a permanent substitute for Congress. I built a company. You cannot run a business on press releases and temporary memos.

I do not care what letter is next to anyone’s name. I care whether Illinois families can afford groceries and whether the next generation can build their American Dream. If a tariff policy delivers results, I will work with whoever is serious. If it is theater while people suffer, I will say so. Congress must legislate. Americans should not have to wait out the courts.

What should Congress do to protect Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid? Will Congress act in time to prevent significant cuts in Social Security benefits?

Social Security and Medicare were earned and promised to people who worked their whole lives. Congress has known for decades the math does not work and still chose to kick the can. That is how these programs reach the brink. Relying on the next President or Congress to paper over insolvency is not a plan. Politicians do not feel that. Families do.

Congress must act: stop raiding the trust funds, cut waste and improper payments, grow the economy so more people pay in, and make targeted common-sense reforms that protect current and near-retirees while putting the programs on a sustainable path. Raising taxes or changing the retirement age is a non starter.

Will Congress act in time? Only if voters send people who treat this like a business problem, not a talking point. I will not vote for another empty “we’ll deal with it next Congress” resolution. I do not care who gets the credit. I care that Illinois seniors can count on benefits they paid for and that my kids’ generation is not handed a broken promise. Results, not letters after a name.

How do you rate the state of health care in America? In particular, what are your views on the Affordable Care Act and the concept of Medicare for All?

Health care in America is too expensive, too complicated, and too captured by the same Washington habit: pass something, declare victory, then leave families with the premiums and surprises. The ACA locked in a lot of that complexity. Medicare for All would nationalize the failure and put government between patients and doctors. Neither is a solution. Both come from the same can-kicking culture that would rather issue an executive order than write a law that actually lowers cost.

I rate the system as failing working families. I provided coverage as an employer and I am a mother of ten. I know what happens when premiums jump. Congress should expand choice: buy across state lines, grow HSAs, demand price transparency, cut regulations that pad bills, and protect people with pre-existing conditions without turning the market into a government program. Fix what is broken. Do not replace it with a bigger monopoly.

Executive action that then spends years in court is not compassion. People still get the bill. I will work with anyone who measures success by whether Illinois families can afford care. Deliver results. That is the job.

How would you describe the working relationships in the U.S. House today? What can be done to promote more effective government in Congress, and what will you do personally to work toward this goal?

The House today too often scores points instead of solving problems. Working relationships are brittle because too many members treat the other side as the enemy instead of treating the people they represent as the customer. That produces government by continuing resolution, last-minute crises, and presidents filling the vacuum with executive orders that then sit in court while Americans wait.

Effective government starts with treating Congress like it has a job: write the law, fund the government on time, and stop outsourcing hard decisions. Regular order, real committee work, and members willing to close a deal instead of running to the cameras would help. So would more people who have actually met a payroll.

I’m a political outsider and businessowner who will show up ready to work with anyone who wants results for Illinois families. I do not care what letter is next to their name. I care whether we cut costs, protect earned benefits, and make it easier to start and grow a business. I built companies by focusing on the problem, not the politics. The status quo is why these problems ballooned. Stop using process as an excuse.

Do you believe the nation's election system and those of the individual states are secure and fair? If not, what must be done to improve them?

Trust in elections is not a partisan luxury. It is the foundation. In too many places, including Illinois, gerrymandering, weak chain-of-custody rules, and years of “we’ll fix it later” have left people wondering whether their vote counted the same as everyone else’s. Congress and state legislatures kicked that can for a long time, then argued about executive actions and court fights while voters lost confidence. That is backwards.

Elections should be secure and simple: voter ID, clean rolls, paper ballots or verifiable paper trails, tightly limited early voting with real safeguards, and districts drawn so voters pick their representatives. States run elections, but Congress can set basic integrity standards and stop pretending that asking for proof you are eligible is an attack on democracy.

I will work with anyone serious about making it easier to vote and harder to cheat. I do not care about the letter next to their name. I care that Illinoisans and Americans believe the result. Treat election integrity as a systems problem, not a culture-war prop, or we will keep getting the same failed results. Identify the problem. Fix the problem. Deliver trust.

If elected, what will you do to help make Congress more effective?

I will treat Congress like a business that has been mismanaged for years: find the bottleneck, stop the waste, and measure output by results for the customer—Illinois families and the country. The status quo of kicking every hard problem to the next Congress or the next president is why costs, debt, and entitlement math all ballooned. Hiding behind executive action while those orders sit in court is not courage. Families pay the price. Politicians rarely do.

Concretely: show up, do the committee work, vote on time, and refuse another “we’ll get to it later” bill. Push regular order so members actually legislate instead of governing by crisis. Work across the aisle when it produces lower costs, more jobs, and programs people can count on. Call out my own party when it is playing games.

I built a company from a kitchen table. I know the difference between activity and results. I do not care what letter is next to anyone’s name or who gets the credit. I care about delivering for the people who sent me, for millions of Illinoisans, and for the American people. Send business-minded people to Congress and make them solve problems instead of managing decline.