Darin LaHood wins 16th Congressional District Republican primary

U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood, R-Dunlap, on Tuesday easily captured the Republican nomination in the 16th Congressional District.

LaHood thanked his supporters and said he would provide a "strong conservative voice" in Congress.

“Illinois and America are at a crossroads," LaHood said in a statement. "The November election is the most consequential of my lifetime as President Biden, Governor Pritzker, and Democrats in Illinois and Congress put our country on a path of decline. As we move past the primary, it is critical the Republicans in Illinois and across the country come together to support our candidates this fall.”

Four Republican candidates campaigned to succeed U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger in the newly drawn 16th Congressional District.

The new district 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.

Rockford primary election results: Find all the primary results here

LaHood, 53, is the incumbent from District 18 but now resides in the redrawn 16th District. A former prosecutor from Peoria, LaHood was elected to a third term November 2020.

His opponents included JoAnne Guillemette, a lawyer from Rockford, Walt Peters, 74, a retired engineer from Rockford, and Amazon Logistics owner Michael Rebresh, 48, of Minooka.

With 49% of the total estimated votes counted, LaHood had amassed more than 65% according to unofficial election totals and was declared the winner by The Associated Press. Peters was at nearly 14%, Guillemette nearly 13% and Rebresh had about 8% of the total votes.

Kinzinger was one of 10 House GOP members that voted to impeach former President Donald Trump. He announced in October 2021 he would not seek re-election. He's finishing a sixth term in Congress.

11th District

In a crowded race, Catalina Lauf of Woodstock captured the Republican party nomination for the U.S. House 11th District in Illinois. The district stretches from the Naperville and Aurora area to Belvidere and then east to include much of McHenry County.

Lauf defeated Jerry Evans, of Warrenville, Andrea Heeg, of Geneva, Susan Hathaway-Altman, of Geneva, Cassandra Tanner Miller, of Elgin, and Mark Joseph Carroll, of North Aurora.

Lauf had captured 31% of the vote to Evans' 23%, according to unofficial election results with 95% of the estimated total votes counted.

The winner will challenge incumbent U.S. Rep. Bill Foster, D-Naperville, a physicist, who has represented the 11th District since 2013. The Democrat, who ran in the primary unopposed, serves on the House Financial Services Committee and on the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee.

Jeff Kolkey: (815) 987-1374; jkolkey@rrstar.com; @jeffkolkey

Editor's note: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that U.S. Rep. Bill Foster was first elected to Congress in 2013. In fact, he previously represented the 14th District from 2008 to 2011. He has represented the 11th District since 2013.

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: IL primary: Darin LaHood wins nomination for 4th term in Congress