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Rep. Randy Frese Won't Seek Re-Election

Rep. Randy Frese (R-Paloma) won’t seek re-election next year.

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Rep. Randy Frese (R-Paloma) announced Wednesday he won’t seek re-election in 2024.

Frese has served in the House since 2015. He was Adams County Circuit Clerk from 2004-2012 when he lost a race for Senate to former Senator John Sullivan. Frese, 64, represents a district stretching from Quincy to Jacksonville.

Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer (R-Jacksonville) and Frese were drawn into the same district in 2021, but Davidsmeyer sought re-election in the neighboring 100th District. It isn’t clear if he has moved into the new district or still resides in the 99th.

If Davidsmeyer has already moved, Frese’s exit sets up a mad scramble for the Quincy-area seat. Watch how rightward this one goes. This is not a seat in play in the fall. President Trump won the district by 39 points in 2020.

UPDATE (9/22): House Republicans confirm Davidsmeyer moved to Murrayville in Morgan County, which is in the 100th District.

Here is Frese’s statement:

“It has been both an honor and a privilege to represent the fine people of West Central Illinois for the past eight and a half years. The job I have been elected to is both quite challenging and very rewarding. My plans are to continue my work as State Representative for the 99th District until the end of my current term. There is work yet to be done.

When the time comes for my departure, I will dearly miss the people the most, the policy second, and then perhaps the politics.

Following the completion of this term, my wife Ronda and I plan to depart on some long-delayed travels and spend time with family and friends. I have been blessed in so many ways. It is time to slow down and count all of those blessings and give thanks.”

Patrick Pfingsten

@pfingstenshow

patrick@theillinoize.com