Downstaters pick up vulnerable races

Betsy and Rodney
Democrat Betsy Dirksen Londrigan was declared a winner by CNN but the numbers began to shift (Image from Betsy Dirksen Londrigan and Wikimedia)

 

By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD– Of the four Illinois Congressional Republicans seen as vulnerable, the two Downstaters won.

And in the case of central Illinois’ U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Taylorville), it was closer than he liked, about 3600 votes over Springfield Democrat Betsy Dirksen Londrigan, who did not concede.

Davis’ fourth term will have him in the minority party in the House. “Many of my friends and colleagues who worked very hard did not come away victorious like we did tonight,” Davis told supporters in Taylorville just before midnight Tuesday. “This is an opportunity
for us to hopefully put some good bipartisan legislation on the floor of the House and see and hope that we can move some good policies forward that the Trump administration has asked us to work with them on.”

Infrastructure was the first example Davis gave.

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