Justin's Political Corner
Rodney Davis, an aide to Congressman John Shimkus, has been chosen by Republican leaders to be the GOP candidate for congress in the newly redrawn 13th Congressional District.
Davis, of Taylorville, will be the GOP candidate instead of U.S. Rep. Tim Johnson, R-Champaign. Johnson won the Republican nomination in the March primary election, but announced shortfly afterward that he would retire and not run in the general election.
That meant a new candidate had to be chosen by the Republican Party chairmen in the 14 counties of the congressional district. The chairmen met Saturday and chose Davis.
The district includes a midsection of Madison County, such as the Edwardsville, Glen Carbon, Maryville and Collinsville areas.
Davis was chosen from among four finalists. The three other finalists were:
* Jerry Clarke, who previously served as Johnson’s chief of staff;
* Former Miss America Erika Harold, an attorney and Urbana native;
* Kathy Wassink, of Macoupin County, who owns a business that serves students with special needs. She also is an organizer of a local Tea Party-type group.
Davis serves as projects director for Shimkus, R-Collinsville.
h/t: BND.com
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. • Illinois Republican officials have narrowed the field to four candidates for the November ballot spot of retiring U.S. Rep. Tim Johnson, R-Urbana.
Johnson, a six-term Urbana incumbent whose newly reconfigured 13th District includes parts of the Metro East, easily won the GOP nomination for re-election in the primaries. Three weeks later, he stunned Illinois and Washington political establishments by announcing he would step down at the end of his current term, citing family issues.
Johnson’s replacement on the Nov. 6 ballot will be chosen by a weighted vote of the Republican county chairmen in the 14 counties encompassed by his district. A committee for the nominating process narrowed the field Saturday night to our finalists: Former Johnson Chief of Staff Jerry Clarke; congressional aide Rodney Davis; former Miss America-turned-attorney Erika Harold; and businesswoman Kathy Wassink.
BLOOMINGTON — Two of the Republicans looking to replace U.S. Rep. Tim Johnson in Congress don’t like the way he pulled out of his re-election race, and believe his decision was orchestrated to benefit his former chief of staff, Jerry Clarke.
Johnson announced on April 5, about two weeks after he won the 13th Congressional District primary election, that he would not run for a seventh term in Congress. Clarke said that day that he was interested in replacing Johnson and that he had already begun calling the county chairmen who will make the appointment.
“It’s not right. This is not right,” said state Sen. Kyle McCarter, R-Lebanon, who told a Republican luncheon gathering in Bloomington that he is interested in the congressional seat. “You know what’s really insulting about this? It didn’t just happen. There was talk of this happening a year ago, and it’s a real insult to the people. Like I said, their vote was taken away from them.
“I think we’re used to politics as usual. The politics as usual is that you manipulate the system to put certain people in positions of power. That’s not the way it ought to be. The people should decide who is going to be speaking for them. Remember, this power that (politicians) have, they don’t own it. It’s only borrowed from the people who elect them. We forget that. But when you have people in back rooms who decide they are going to put in place who they want so that they can control them and they can control what happens in this country, that’s wrong.”
McCarter said the county chairmen should slow down the process to appoint Johnson’s replacement.
Sam Spradlin, a Springfield truck driver who also wants to be considered by the GOP county chairmen, said Monday that “this feels like a hand-me-down to Jerry Clarke.”
Spradlin originally had planned to challenge Johnson in the March 20 primary, then pulled out of the race.
“Tim knew he was going to quit the race before the primary. He knew ahead of time,” Spradlin charged. “If they give this to Clarke, it’s a travesty.”
Spradlin also made his views known in a 5-minute video he posted Sunday on You Tube. In it he predicted that if county chairmen choose Clarke, “you will have a mutiny on your hands.”
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Tim Johnson says he would like to replace the retiring congressman.
Johnson said last week that he plans to stop campaigning for re-election and retire at the end of his term. Former Johnson chief of staff Jerry Clarke said Monday that he would like to replace Johnson as the Republican candidate and run against Democrat David Gill. GOP officials have said he’s a strong contender.
State Rep. Chapin Rose of Mahomet, meanwhile, says he isn’t interested.
h/t: BND.com
SPRINGFIELD — U.S. Rep. Tim Johnson’s decision to abandon his bid for a seventh term touched off a scramble among Illinois Republicans looking to replace him on the general election ballot.
From a handful of state lawmakers to congressional aides, the wannabe congressmen were busy dialing up Republican party chairmen in the 14 counties that comprise the newly formed 13th Congressional District.
The chairmen will cast weighted votes to determine who will take on Democrat David Gill of Bloomington in November.
Among those putting their hat in the ring was Jerry Clarke, who formerly served as Johnson’s chief of staff. He’s a major in the Army Reserve who lives in Urbana and works for U.S. Rep. Randy Hultgren of Winfield.
Clarke, 46, said he would announce his plans Monday.
“I think today is Tim’s day,” said Clarke, who also served as state Sen. Bill Brady’s campaign manager when the Bloomington Republican ran for governor.
Rodney Davis of Taylorville, projects coordinator for U.S. Rep. John Shimkus of Collinsville, also may be a contender.
Bill Brady said he’s not jumping in the race. But, his brother, Ed, a Bloomington real estate developer, was mulling whether to join the fray.
State lawmakers in the mix include state Sens. Kyle McCarter of Lebanon and Sam McCann of Carlinville and state Reps. Adam Brown of Decatur, Chapin Rose of Mahomet and Dan Brady of Bloomington.
“I am taking a look at it,” said McCarter, whose current district includes Decatur.
“I’m going to do my due diligence on this. I’m going to take a look at the numbers this weekend,” said Rose
Brown said he’s already called a number of county chairmen to gauge interest in his candidacy.
“I’ve said I’d keep my options open,” added Dan Brady.
State Rep. Bill Mitchell, R-Forsyth, said he’s not seeking the appointment. But, he said he’s hoping a candidate from Macon County emerges as the winner. Under the new legislative maps, Macon County is wholly within the 13th district, which stretches from Champaign County to Madison County and includes all or parts of Bloomington, Springfield, Taylorville and Litchfield.
