All three Metro East members of Congress won their party’s primary contest on Tuesday and will advance to the general election.
U.S. Reps. Nikki Budzinski, D-Springfield, and Mary Miller, R-Hindsboro, beat primary opponents in contests they were expected to win. Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, did not have a challenger.
13th Congressional District
To win her third Democratic nomination in the 13th Congressional District, Budzinski fended off a challenger from the left, Dylan Blaha, 77% to 23% with 78% of the vote counted.
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“It’s been an honor of my life to get to represent central and southern Illinois in Congress,” Budzinski said in an interview Tuesday night. “It means a tremendous amount to me that we won tonight, and we won very decisively.”
Blaha of Urbana had critiqued Budzinski’s stance on immigration, specifically her vote for the Laken Riley Act and her support of a symbolic measure condemning antisemitism that included thanking Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
However, the Army National Guard member’s message did not garner enough widespread support among the Democratic Party’s base, which instead endorsed the moderate Budzinski.
“The Democratic Party is a big tent party, and I do really try to represent and reach out to everyone in our party,” she said. “I think I’m going to continue to do that, to bring those voters back because I’m going to need them in the general election.”
In the primary, Budzinski centered her reelection bid on affordability and winning back working-class voters.
“It’s the fact that working people in this country and in this district that I represent struggle every day, and are struggling more and more every day to get ahead, to pay their bills,” she said. “They’re seeing gas prices now skyrocket, in addition to grocery prices that have already been going up — utility prices, unaffordable housing, a child care system that’s broken.”
Speaking after winning the primary, Budzinski vowed to continue to push back against the Trump administration and projected her party would win a majority of the seats in the House in November.
The win for Budzinski sets her up for a general election contest against Champaign County Board member Jeff Wilson, who won the Republican primary on Tuesday.
Wilson of Mahomet beat 2024 nominee Joshua Loyd of Virden, 67.2% to 32.8% with 49% of the vote counted.
The retired nuclear engineer argued his career and experience as an elected official positioned him better to represent the GOP in the general election than the younger Loyd. Wilson had a 12-1 fundraising edge over Loyd, according to federal election filings. Wilson, a supporter of President Trump, may have a tough time winning in the district that’s considered a seat that Democrats should have no problem keeping this cycle by Cook Political Report. It’s rated as a D+5 district, meaning Democrats perform 5% better than Republicans in the district compared to the national average.
Wilson could not be immediately reached for comment on Tuesday night.
15th Congressional District
Miller also secured a decisive victory in her quest for a fourth term in the GOP primary, winning 73.1% of votes compared to Ryan Tebrugge’s 15.1% and Judy Bowlby’s 11.7% with 59% of the votes counted.
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Miller, one of Trump’s staunchest allies in the U.S. House, vowed to continue to support the president’s agenda.
“It is an honor to once again earn the Republican nomination to represent the great Americans across Illinois’ 15th District,” she said in a statement on X. “As a farmer, a mother, and your representative, I will continue fighting every single day to deliver for the hardworking families across our district. I’m proud to stand with President Trump as we fight to restore strength, security, and common sense in our country.”
In a four-person Democratic field, Jennifer Ann Todd of Edwardsville was leading Paul Davis of Collinsville, Kyle Nudo of Alton and Rand Raley of Highland as of 9:30 p.m. with 50% of the votes counted.
All Democrats criticized Miller’s unwavering support of the president and her history of not submitting proposals for congressional funding for local projects known as earmarks.
However, Miller will be heavily favored in the November general election. Illinois’ 15th District, the victim of Democratic gerrymandering by the Illinois General Assembly, is one of the 35 most conservative districts in the country, and it’s rated an R+20 in the midterms, according to Cook Political Report.
12th Congressional District
Neither Bost nor Democratic challenger Julie Fortier of O’Fallon had primary opponents on Tuesday.
Like Miller, Bost will be heavily favored in November. The 12th District is even more conservative than the 15th. It’s rated an R+22 in the midterms, according to Cook Political Report.
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