GOP to appoint new state House candidate after Bruzan Taylor bows out

DuPage County Republican Party leaders will pick a new candidate to run against Democratic incumbent Janet Yang Rohr in the 41st state House District this fall.

GOP challenger Jennifer Bruzan Taylor, a Naperville councilwoman, has dropped out of the House race just four months before the November election, citing "recent personal family reasons."

"My focus at this time needs to be on the health of my family, and the rigors involved in running an effective campaign will not allow that to happen," Taylor said in a statement. "Many people say their family comes first. My decision backs up my words with action. This was a tough decision, but one that needed to be made."

DuPage GOP Chairman Jim Zay said party officials had known about her plans to withdraw for the last couple of weeks. Local Republican leaders have until Aug. 25 to fill the vacancy on the November ballot.

But Zay said he expects to announce a replacement candidate in the "next week or so."

Zay will confer with the Will County Republican Central Committee chairman on appointing a successor. Zay has a majority weighted vote in the decision because most of the 41st District is in DuPage.

"We've had a good group of people who've put their name forward," Zay said of interest in the ballot spot.

Yang Rohr, a former Naperville Unit District 203 school board member, flipped the seat from red to blue in 2020 by defeating Naperville Republican Grant Wehrli, an established incumbent.

Including Yang Rohr, Democrats captured 12 of the 16 available state House and Senate districts that include parts of DuPage County, a one-time ruby-red bastion of conservatism.

Neither Yang Rohr nor Bruzan Taylor had a primary opponent.

Yang Rohr dominated the fundraising race with $492,482 available at the end of the most recent quarterly reporting period, campaign finance records show. Bruzan Taylor, by comparison, had $18,405.

Bruzan Taylor is a former Cook County assistant state's attorney. She also led an "Opt Out" group opposed to recreational marijuana stores in Naperville.

"There is still much work to be done here in Naperville in keeping our children and community safe, as well as growing our economy," Bruzan Taylor said in her statement. "And I will continue to dedicate myself to these issues as a Naperville city councilwoman."

The 41st District includes parts of Burr Ridge, Darien, Downers Grove, Lemont, Naperville, Western Springs, Willowbrook and Woodridge.