SPRINGFIELD – Democrat Betsy Dirksen Londrigan thanked her supporters, volunteers and campaign staff Wednesday, after losing to Congressman Rodney Davis for a second time. And she urged voters to stay active in the political process.
Two years ago, Davis defeated Dirksen Londrigan by less than one percentage point, or 2,058 votes, giving her hope for a rematch in Illinois’ 13th Congressional District. But in their second contest, Davis was leading with 55 percent of the vote as of Wednesday evening, with a margin of 29,484 votes over Dirksen Londrigan, with all but one precinct reporting, and an undetermined number of mail-in ballots not yet counted.
In her Wednesday morning concession speech, carried over Zoom and on her campaign Facebook page, Dirksen Londrigan urged voters to stay politically active beyond election season. She cited the major issue of her two congressional campaigns: access to healthcare.
“So if you want your Social Security and Medicare protected, if you want the Affordable Care Act maintained and essential health benefits protected, if you want to make sure that you have coverage, and not be discriminated against because of a pre-existing condition, you have to engage with your representative,” said Dirksen Londrigan. “Democracy is not a spectator sport. It requires each of us to do our part. And that doesn’t stop. Elections come and go. Representatives come and go. But the job of the American citizen is constant.”
Dirksen Londrigan took no questions after her concession speech, and gave no hints on what she might do next.
In his own statement on Election Night, Davis congratulated his opponent.
“And I want to thank my opponent for running a very spirited race, once again,” said Davis. “It takes courage and tenacity to come back again. But we believe this lead is insurmountable.”