Running as a political outsider, Virden Republican seeks Congressional District 13 seat

The journey from Virden to Washington D.C. is just more than 800 miles by car, yet for one local congressional candidate, it would be a trip earned at the ballot box.

West Point graduate Joshua Loyd is running for the Republican nominee in Illinois Congressional District 13, where he'll face off against Thomas Clatterbuck in the March primary.

Speaking to The State Journal-Register in a recent one-on-one interview, Loyd sells himself as a native son of Illinois having lived in the state for all of his life outside of his term in the service.

"I love Illinois," he said. "It's where I grew I grew up, it's where I flourished."

His story, he asserts, is different from incumbent Democrat U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski, who he hopes to face in November. Loyd points out that Budzinski, then working as chief of staff of the federal Office of Management and Budget, had to move to Springfield to run for Congress in 2022.

More: One-on-one with U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski: Act on immigration, protect abortion rights

While true, Loyd also listed Carbondale — a town in the 12th Congressional District — as his home on his federal statement of candidacy last March. His November filing with the Illinois State Board of Elections now notes Virden as home. Congressional candidates only have to live in the state, not the district, to be eligible to hold office.

For the race, Loyd holds a funding advantage over his opponent with $1,769 in campaign reserves compared to $340 for Clatterbuck — a law student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Yet, neither's war chest is remotely close to Budzinski, D-Springfield, who is running unopposed in the primary. Her campaign is coming off a high-earning quarter to close out 2023, receiving more than $583,000. She now has nearly $1.4 million on hand.

The National Republican Congressional Committee is pouring financial resources into 37 seats, the 13th not among them, currently held by Democrats where they feel they can add to their tight majority in the House. In a blue Illinois, Democrats carry 14 of the state's 17 congressional seats and the chance of the 13th Congressional District flipping is seen as unlikely.

The outsider pitch

Besides serving as a precinct committeeman, Loyd's political experience is slim. Seeing the 2016 victory of former President Donald Trump with his non-political background, Loyd said his own inexperience is actually a positive.

"It's not necessarily Donald Trump that people are voting for," he said. "It's someone outside, it's someone new. It's someone that's not establishment and people are tired of all the bickering and fighting within the policies that don't help people."

Instead, Loyd said his military experience forced him to work with others from a wide array of experiences that will serve him well in public office.

At Fort Moore in Georgia, formerly known as Fort Benning, he said he went through basic training primarily among enlistees of lower incomes. At West Point, most were middle or upper-class.

No longer on active duty, Loyd serves as an ombudsman for the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, a U.S. Defense Department program acting as an intermediary between private employers and the National Guard and Reserve.

His background is a large part of his pitch, as he tries to sell himself as a better alternative to his potential Democratic opponent.

"All she knows is politics," he said of Budzinski. "I'm just going to come out and tell you what I think, how it should be, what I see."

Guns, abortion, Trump

The primary reasons why Loyd calls himself a Republican come down to guns and federal spending. On more social issues such as gay marriage, he is not opposed.

A firm backer of the Second Amendment, the problem of gun violence he said lies in mental health and is opposed to measures like the state's assault weapons ban and registry program. He is however a supporter of gun safety measures such as the 16-hour concealed carry training requirement administered by an Illinois State Police-approved instructor.

Other congressional candidates such as failed gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey, running against U.S. Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, in the Illinois 12th Congressional District primary have openly defied the registry. When asked if he had assault weapons or if he had registered them with ISP, Loyd did not answer.

"This is not something they should be pushing," he said of the state's assault-style weapons ban, now in effect for over a year. "I understand their desire to reduce crime — this is not the way to do it."

On abortion, he is personally opposed but does not favor any government policy that would block access. Instead that is a decision Loyd said is between "God, the woman, and her physician."

Loyd could also be sharing the ballot with Trump, the Republican frontrunner for president now facing another ballot challenge. SBE ruled to keep Trump on the ballot, but that decision has been appealed in Cook County Circuit Court.

More: Objectors to Trump's primary candidacy appeal to courts following SBE decision

Trump lost Illinois in 2020 by more than 15 points to President Joe Biden, however, Loyd considers having Trump on the ballot this year will help his candidacy. Loyd said he voted for Trump in 2016 but did not share who he voted for in the last election.

"The 2020 election, people didn't necessarily vote for Biden because they wanted Biden," he said. "They voted because they did not want Donald Trump. That same effect is going to come out this election...there are going to be people who come out just to vote against President Biden."

Federal spending done right

The federal government's growing amount of debt, now topping $34 trillion according to the U.S. Department of the Treasury is a particular grievance for Loyd.

Eating into that, he said, should not require any increases to taxes or cuts to federal programs but rather taking at how tax dollars are being spent. Loyd listed several examples of "outrageous" spending, including the U.S. Air Force spending nearly $330,000 on coffee cups, as ways to reduce unnecessary spending.

"They just throw money at stuff so they claim the next year that they need that budget again," Loyd said.

Early voting begins Thursday before the primary on March 19.

Contact Patrick M. Keck: 312-549-9340, pkeck@gannett.com, twitter.com/@pkeckreporter.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Who is Joshua Loyd? Virden man runs for Congressional District 13 seat