House GOP Avoids Western Illinois Primary Fight
House Republicans appear to have settled the gerrymandering of three western Illinois Republicans without any primary fights.
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It appears a gerrymandering game of musical chairs could be settled in the next week with all three targeted Republicans finding a home without a major primary fight.
Under the Democrat-drawn legislative map, Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer (R-Jacksonville) and Rep. Randy Frese (R-Paloma) were drawn into the new 99th House district, which connects Jacksonville and Quincy. Freshman Rep. Amy Elik (R-Alton) was drawn out of her Metro East district and into the new 100th district, an expansive western Illinois district that includes much of Davidsmeyer’s and Frese’s current districts.
It appeared Frese and Davidsmeyer were headed for a member vs. member primary, while Elik would lose much of her home area in Madison County, but keep a safely Republican district.
Davidsmeyer has announced he’s planning to run in the 100th district, giving up his hometown of Jacksonville. If he plans to stay more than one additional term, he’ll have to move south out of Jacksonville to keep the seat. Davidsmeyer did not return a call from The Illinoize Thursday.
Elik will be forced to move south from her home north of Alton to run in the new 111th district, which is an open seat Democrats hoped to win to keep four Democratic House members in the Metro East.
The new 111th stretches along the Mississippi River from Godfrey on the north to Pontoon Beach and Granite City in the south, including Glen Carbon, Wood River, and part of Bethalto. It also includes all of Alton.
Election data guru Frank Calabrese says Republican Erika Harold won the 2018 Attorney General race against Kwame Raoul in the new 111th 51%-45%. It also looks like Donald Trump won the district with 56%. So a tough haul for Democrats gets a lot harder with an incumbent Republican who has already run in a lot of the area.
Elik told The Illinoize she’s been “honored” to represent much of that area since defeating Democrat incumbent Monica Bristow in 2020.
That leaves Frese, who hasn’t announced his plans yet. We’re told Frese plans to announce a run for the 99th as early as next week. He declined to comment for on the record when he spoke to The Illinoize Thursday.
When the maps were approved in September, this looked like a potential trouble spot for Republicans, but it appears the potential issues have shaken out.