West Central Reporter

U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) isn't bothered by people trying to suppress voter turnout.

'Voter suppressionists have been doing a pretty crappy job these past two cycles,' Davis said during a recent House hearing on elections that was posted to YouTube. “I traveled the country during the last congress talking about these issues. We had historic midterm turnout; we had historic turnout in 2020. Great, that meant many eligible voters were able to cast a vote in favor of their preferred candidate. While we may not like the outcome of elections, that’s the positive that we all should celebrate.”

Still, Davis adds that’s no reason not to strive to make things better and elections even fairer

“We talk about vote fraud and there being such a small amount, but everything matters,” he said.  “There are so many processes right now in our election process that we need to delve into. At same time, we have to encourage the positivity of how well we have done as a country in every state in having historic turnout. “

 With Illinois poised to lose a congressional seat this cycle based on Census Bureau data that shows dwindling population, Davis is concerned his downstate seat could be the one sacrificed if Democrats are able to push forward with their plan for redistricting.

"It's a tough one," Wirepoint’s Ted Dabrowski recently told Chicago’s Morning Answer of the situation. "I don't know how they're going to do this. I'm sure it will be Davis or (U.S. Rep. Adam) Kinzinger (R-Rockford) but I don't know how that's going to play out, these politics are too big for me to figure that out."

Of Illinois’ 18 members of Congress, only five are Republicans. The official timeline in announcing the new districts means nominating petitions for U.S. Congress must be filed with the State Board of Elections by Nov. 29 to get on the ballot.