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* News-Gazette…
Saying it was “one of the hardest decisions of my life,” State Representative Carol Ammons has decided not to run for Congress.
“With my deepest appreciation for your support and encouragement, I have decided not to run for the 13th Congressional District in 2018,” Ammons posted on her Facebook page on Monday night.
Ammons, D-Urbana, had been considering challenging incumbent Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville, for the past two months and held several “listening sessions” throughout the district during that time.
“Across the 13th Congressional District, from Champaign-Urbana to Edwardsville, I heard you say that the issues and policies impacting your lives on a day-to-day basis, the ones pushing you into survival mode, crushing your families and dampening your children’s dreams, are primarily state issues,” Ammons said. “What I heard at the listening sessions, loudest and clearest, is that right now I am needed most in state government, fighting for Champaign-Urbana and all of Illinois in 2018.”
* SJ-R…
Erik Jones, 37, an attorney from Edwardsville who has worked for the state attorney general and congressional committees, on Monday announced he is a Democratic primary candidate for the U.S. House from the 13th Congressional District.
“Illinois needs to send bulldogs, not backslappers, to Congress to confront our challenges,” Jones said in a statement. “We’ve grown too comfortable with low expectations of our leaders. It’s time we raise the bar, and that starts with who we send to Washington.”
Republican U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis of Taylorville now represents the 13th.
Jones becomes the third Democrat to announce for the race, joining physician and past congressional candidate David Gill of Bloomington and Betsy Dirksen Londrigan of Springfield, who has worked as a self-employed fundraiser for people including U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and entities such as the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation.
A competitive race is almost certain to be an expensive affair, with Davis’ campaign committee reporting $801,532.39 on hand at the end of June, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission.
Jones said he was confident that he could raise the money necessary to “run a serious campaign” against Davis.
“I wouldn’t be in this race if I didn’t think I could put in a serious campaign,” he said.
* News-Gazette…
Most recently, Jones said, he was in private practice with the Venable law firm, aiding domestic companies in their response to data breaches by foreign hackers who were targeted individuals’ consumer information.
Jones said he is in the process of leaving the firm and intends to devote “100 percent” of his time to the race in the congressional district that extends from Champaign-Urbana on the northeast to Edwardsville on the southwest, a distance of about 150 miles.
“I’ll be running full time, that’s the plan,” he said.
posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Jul 25, 17 @ 9:33 am
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Sounds to me like the DCCC found it’s loyal party DC insider to run in this race. Jones worked for House Dems and is at a large DC firm. Obviously, he made the connections to solicit K street big money. Great - another corporate Dem and alas one that hasn’t even lived in the district recently.
Comment by I'mDone Tuesday, Jul 25, 17 @ 9:39 am
The hardest decision of your life is to run and put yourself and family through it. Deciding not to run is the easiest decision you can make. Hmm, should I do something, or nothing?
Comment by hot chocolate Tuesday, Jul 25, 17 @ 9:44 am
ILGOP under Rauner will probably be going the way of DPI under Madigan and completely ignore Congressional races.
Comment by Fax Machine Tuesday, Jul 25, 17 @ 9:50 am
What about her run for Gov? Is that still on the table?
Comment by Alex P. Keaton Tuesday, Jul 25, 17 @ 9:55 am
I’d assume she realized she had no chance of winning.
Comment by So_Ill Tuesday, Jul 25, 17 @ 9:58 am
A real shame. Democrats in the District really wanted her to run. Only candidate so far who inspires people - especially students at those universities who have to be turned out en masse to win in an off-year.
Comment by Downstate Dem Tuesday, Jul 25, 17 @ 10:03 am
@ImDone - if you read the Venable press release of two years ago you will realize that he has had a very impressive legal career, both in Illinois and DC. Being local, with both state and national experience, is a plus.
But to say that he is the anointed DCCC candidate is a stretch at this time.
Just found out this morning that my cousin helped Eric buy a home in Edwardsville one subdivision over from him and that his father has been doing my flyers, inserts and mailers for the past 20 years.
If he can survive the primary, can challenge the Davis incumbency and raise the money to counter the $800K in campaign funds that Davis has accumulated he will be formidable.
Time will tell.
Comment by illini Tuesday, Jul 25, 17 @ 10:19 am
Assuming Rodney Davis & Andy Manar win their respective elections this year, they could be facing off in 2020.
Comment by Fax Machine Tuesday, Jul 25, 17 @ 10:21 am
Too bad. She’d have been a perfect opponent for him. It’s almost hard to believe she’s won the seat she has. She made a smart decision. For herself. That’s all it’s about for her anyway.
Comment by A guy Tuesday, Jul 25, 17 @ 10:36 am
Ammons has a super safe district. Rodney Davis is always going to be under the gun but until the DCCC finds a top tier candidate who has electoral experience then Rodney will remain unscathed.
Comment by Curl of the Burl Tuesday, Jul 25, 17 @ 10:41 am
Good news for Betsy Dirksen Londrigan. As of now, she’s the only female in the race, has a great personal story, and knows how to raise money.
Comment by Can Tuesday, Jul 25, 17 @ 11:16 am
Could be bad news for Londrigan because he’s another corporate Democrat appealing to same establishment Dems as Betsy. However, I agree it would be worse for Londrigan if Jones were a woman.
Comment by Johnny Justice Tuesday, Jul 25, 17 @ 7:15 pm
The Democrats have a candidate running who came incredibly close to defeating Davis in 2012 in this race and it appears the DCCC doesn’t want him to get his rematch. They had their pick of Callis in 2014 and she got crushed. I doubt any of you have seen Betsy speak but she is actually incredibly uninspiring. Her story is nice, but her husband is a healthcare lobbyist, her family was never in any danger of suffering crazy medical expenses they could not afford or lack of healthcare coverage. The ACA is a great piece of legislation that has saved lives but the Londrigan family would have been fine without it so her story rings hollow for me. I will be voting for Dr. Gill, the only candidate in this race who is for Single Payer healthcare and who has spent his life fighting for progressive causes.
Comment by Poliscimajor Wednesday, Jul 26, 17 @ 1:05 am