Incumbents in the two congressional districts that include parts of Sangamon County – the 13th and the 15th — both faced challengers but easily won reelection.
U.S. Rep. Mary Miller won her reelection bid for a fourth term against newcomer Democrat Jennifer Todd with 66% of the vote. The ardent President Donald Trump supporter won with little campaign presence in the 15th Illinois Congressional District, which is dominated by rural counties.
Todd said she wasn’t surprised by the outcome but still felt it was worthwhile for her to run.
“I went into this race knowing that this would happen, but we’ve also made huge strides that we can build upon, and that’s what the goal was to begin with,” she said.
The last Democrat challenger in 2022, Paul Lange, earned 28.9% of the votes, whereas Todd earned nearly five percentage points more. Miller ran unopposed in the 2024 election.
The 15th Congressional District drawn up by the Democrat-controlled statehouse is designed to favor Republicans.
The gerrymandered district, Todd said, “makes it very, very challenging to overcome.”
“But, I went into this just making sure everybody had a choice, and they were thrilled to have that choice,” she said.
“And I hope that she’ll take this opportunity to start listening to the people in the district,” Todd said of Miller, who’s been criticized for her lack of outreach in the district.
In the 13th Congressional District, U.S. Rep. Democrat Nikki Budzinski, D-Springfield, beat her challenger, Republican Jeff Wilson, with 63.8% of the votes for a third term in office.
The 13th Congressional District crosses portions of Champaign, Decatur and Springfield. It also covers most of Macoupin County and parts of Madison County and East St. Louis.
The congresswoman has described herself as “with the folks that are in the middle – the common-sense, practical Democrats.”
