Darin LaHood seeks another term while running in newly drawn district

PEORIA— A newly drawn congressional district appears to be easy sailing for incumbent Darin LaHood, who hopes to win his fourth term in office while replacing a fellow Republican who opted not to run for reelection.

The Republican beat out three others to win the Republican primary in late June to earn a spot in the general election for the newly drawn 16th District, which was created after the 2020 U.S. census. After the national headcount, Illinois lost one congressional seat, bringing its representation in the U.S. House to 17 people. As such, districts were redrawn to make sure each was nearly the same in population.

Currently, the old version of the 16th District is represented by Adam Kinzinger, who announced last year that he was not running for reelection. The new district now stretches from the Wisconsin border south to Bloomington, circling around cities such as Rockford to include Roscoe, Rockton and South Beloit and south down to parts of Peoria and the Bloomington area.

LaHood had previously represented the 18th District, which had been a bastion for Republicans for decades. Bob Michel, Ray LaHood and Aaron Schock all were undefeated in their races from 1958 until 2016, when Darin LaHood, Ray's son, first ran. He's seeking his fourth term in office.

More:She's running against Darin LaHood. Here's where she stands on the issues

About the candidate

LaHood, 54, lives in Dunlap with his wife, Kristen, and their three children. LaHood worked as a prosecutor, first in Tazewell County, and later for the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Nevada in Las Vegas. He returned to Peoria in 2005 and went into private practice.

His first foray into public office was the 2008 campaign, where he ran unsuccessfully for state's attorney against incumbent Kevin Lyons. He was later appointed to the Illinois Senate in 2011 to fill a vacancy created when Dale Risinger retired. He then ran unopposed for reelection in 2012.

While a state senator, he announced he would run in a special primary after then U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock resigned in 2015. He easily won both the primary and the special Sept. 10, 2015, election by wide margins and was sworn in as a congressman a week later. He has since won reelection in 2016, 2018 and 2020, earning roughly two-thirds of the votes cast.

Top three issues in the race

LaHood addressed the top issues in the race, one of which was inflation and the need to drive down costs for working families.

"Since President Biden took office, inflation has reached record levels, hurting Illinois families, workers, and small businesses," he said. "The spending measures implemented by President Biden and Democrats in Congress have increased prices and pushed our economy into a recession. First, we need to rein in government spending, and a Republican majority in the House would place a check on the Biden administration’s runaway tax and spend agenda."

He also pushed for "pro-growth economic policies that incentivize our workforce and allow businesses to grow." The congressman blasted Democrats, saying they wanted to increase governmental rules and taxes that will continue to hurt families.

"Republicans will lower taxes and get (the) government out of the way so small businesses and workers can thrive," LaHood said.

Another main issue is abortion, in the wake of the Dobbs decision in June that overturned the legal protection for abortion nationwide.

"As a father of three boys and a practicing Catholic, I am proud to be pro-life and have a strong record in Congress of supporting pro-life policies. I oppose abortion, except in cases of rape, incest or a life-threatening impact to the mother," he said, and referred to his statement when the Dobbs decision was released.

The final key issue in the race is crime. LaHood touted his experience as a federal prosecutor to note he understands the issues facing law enforcement today.

"Instead of demeaning law enforcement, we should be investing in our police, hiring more officers and giving them the training and resources they need to protect our communities. In Congress, I’ve introduced and supported legislation, HR 3131 – the David Dorn Back the Blue Act, to increase police pay and hire more officers," he said.

The bill, he said, would authorize funding for the Department of Justice to help state and local law enforcement departments boost their personnel, support mental health resources, provide funding for additional officer hires and officer retention, and give pay raises to police officers.

Who's endorsing LaHood?

LaHood has been backed by the Illinois and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Illinois Farm Bureau, the National Right to Life organization, and several Second Amendment groups. Former President Donald Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence both endorsed LaHood for the June primary. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who served in the Trump administration, also endorsed him.

LaHood has been endorsed by every Republican Central Committee chairperson within the 16th District, including Peoria County Chair Steve Morris and Woodford County Chair Tim Ruestman.

Campaign finance

According to the most recent Federal Election Commission reports, LaHood had about $3 million left over from his 2020 campaign and raised about $3.2 million during this election cycle. He has spent about $1.9 million so far, leaving him with roughly $4.3 million in cash. Federal contributions are limited to $2,900 for a primary and $2,900 for a general election for a single candidate, and LaHood has had dozens of people contribute that amount.

Also, roughly $8,400 has been spent by outside, independent organizations on LaHood's behalf. Those contributions, all made by a political fund run by the Illinois Farm Bureau, were for ads, phone calls or postcards.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Darin LaHood: Where the Illinois candidate stands on crime, inflation