WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic Rep. Nikki Budzinski won reelection to a U.S. House seat representing Illinois on Wednesday. The freshman congresswoman was once a former senior advisor to Gov. JB Pritzker and worked as a labor union activist. She defeated Republican Joshua Loyd. The narrow Democrat-leaning district cuts through central Illinois from the St. Louis area to Champaign. The Associated Press declared Budzinski the winner at 10:23 a.m. CST.
Budzinski, 47, was seeking a second term in the narrow, Democrat-leaning district that cuts through central Illinois from the St. Louis area to Champaign and includes college towns and agricultural communities.
She says one of her biggest accomplishments as a congresswoman was helping secure a $51 million federal grant for an agricultural tech hub run by the University of Illinois.
“People really want their elected officials to find solutions, not create more political noise,” said Budzinski, who was first elected in 2022.
Once a senior adviser to Gov. JB Pritzker and a labor union activist, Budzinksi has also vastly overtaken Loyd in fundraising. She’s raised roughly $4 million in total contributions, compared to Loyd’s about $76,000, according to Federal Election Commission filings.
But Budzinski’s 26-year-old challenger said he only recently started fundraising and had started campaigning full time.
Loyd says Budzinski could do more to help constituents. A graduate of West Point military academy, he says he struggled to get veterans benefits after being medically discharged from the military and elected leaders didn’t help him.
He says ensuring veterans get their entitled benefits is among his top priorities.
“I have continuously put myself out there for the community, for the state, for the country,” he said. “And I do not have any intentions to stop.”