By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD – Removing whatever suspense remained, U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Taylorville) has announced he wants to stay in Congress. He will run in the newly drawn 15th District, which includes Taylorville but not much of Springfield.

While Davis is the only incumbent who resides in the new district, members do not have to live in the district they represent. As it stands now, it wards off a primary against another incumbent.

Davis, in his fifth term in Washington, had explored a run for governor.

“Democrats in Washington have put our nation in crisis with their big government, socialist schemes and dreams,” Davis said in a campaign news release. “Republicans are primed to retake the House next year, and I’m ready to work with a new Republican majority to finally fire Nancy Pelosi and hold the Biden Administration accountable for their massive failures. I look forward to campaigning hard and earning every vote in this district.”

Davis would no longer represent much of Springfield or Champaign – and none of Bloomington-Normal. The new 15th snakes up toward the Quad Cities and down into southeastern Illinois near Terre Haute, Ind., providing him the opportunity to introduce himself to thousands of potential constituents. The new boundaries of the 13th move far enough north to remove Davis’ home.

The Illinois primary is June 28, 2022.

Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected].