US Rep. Darin LaHood re-elected to Illinois’ 16th Congressional District

The Associated Press has declared Republican incumbent Darin LaHood the winner in the 16th Congressional District.

Peoria native Republican LaHood has served in Congress since 2015 and was running for reelection against Democratic candidate Elizabeth Haderlein. Haderlein is an alderwoman in northwest suburban Harvard and executive director for The Land Conservancy of McHenry County.

LaHood has represented the 18th Congressional District since he was first elected but he was redrawn into the 16th District along with incumbent six-term Republican U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger — an outspoken critic of former President Donald Trump and one of only two Republicans on the House Jan. 6 committee. Kinzinger announced last year that he wouldn’t run for reelection, hours after the redrawn map put him in a district against LaHood, a Trump supporter.

LaHood — son of former Republican U.S. Rep. Ray LaHood, who also served as transportation secretary under Democratic President Barack Obama — has been a strong conservative voice in the House and the new 16th District is heavily Republican.

In 2021, LaHood was put in charge of national Republican congressional fundraising. He was named to head the 2022 fundraising efforts for the National Republican Congressional Committee, the campaign arm of the chamber’s GOP election efforts.

“In the 2020 election, House Republicans made critical gains to expand our conference, with the most diverse freshman class in our history, and we are prepared to build on these victories and restore a Republican majority in the chamber in 2022,” LaHood said in a statement at the time, adding he was looking forward to working hard with national GOP leaders “to take back the majority in 2022.”

Before he was elected to Congress, LaHood was an Illinois state senator after having been a state and federal prosecutor. He also practiced law in Peoria.