McCombie Wins House GOP Leadership Race
Rep. Tony McCombie (R-Savanna) will be the first female House Republican Leader.
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After House Republican Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) announced last week he would not remain leader, Rep. Tony McCombie (R-Savanna) appeared to have the upper hand to take the reins.
When the dust settled last night, McCombie became the first House Republican Leader from outside of the Chicago media market since the 1960’s.
House Republicans didn’t release details of the vote, but sources say McCombie defeated Rep. Marty McLaughlin (R-Barrington Hills) 31-8.
“The House Republican Caucus is focused on helping Illinois families by offering common sense solutions to the many problems our state faces,” McCombie said in a statement. “We will be a unified force that will grow our party by sticking to our core values and ending the corruption that has pervaded state government.”
McCombie was elected to the House in 2016, defeating an incumbent Democrat. She previously served as Mayor of Savanna in Carroll County in far northwestern Illinois. She challenged Durkin for leader after the 2020 election, but said this summer she supported him for another term as leader.
“She had the humility to say ‘I play for the team’ after losing in 2020,” a McCombie supporter said. “I don’t get the impression this is Durkin 2.0. That’s a [right wing] narrative that will fall flat on its face.”
McCombie will be tasked with keeping a record low number of House Republicans relevant and rebuilding a fundraising infrastructure that left GOP candidates vastly outspent in races around the state this fall.
McCombie will inherit a caucus that loses nearly every member of its current leadership team, most of whom lost races for higher office, lost a primary, or in a general election race.
“Nobody works harder than her,” said one Republican insider. “If anyone can turn things around, it’s Tony.”