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Among the few contested local races, Josh Loyd is the projected winner in the Illinois Congressional District 13 Republican primary.
Loyd defeated Thomas Clatterbuck, a University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign law student. Loyd will now go onto to face U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski, D-Springfield, in the November election.
POLITICO reports Loyd with 55.9% of the vote, now 95% counted as of 10:30 a.m. Wednesday. The battle was closer in Sangamon County where Loyd's margin of victory was less than 150 votes, taking 51.2% of the vote.
Speaking with The State Journal-Register after his projected victory, Loyd thanked his supporters and Clatterbuck for running a clean race based on the issues rather than personal attacks. Now, he focuses on unseating Budzinski — a tall task given the incumbent's overwhelming cash advantage."She has quite a head start," Loyd said in a phone interview, Budzinski holding $1.4 million on hand compared to his $1,767 per federal campaign finance reports. "But money isn't the answer... in order to (make) solutions, you actually have to go out yourself and actually fix the issues and actually be involved and be engaged."
Uncontested in the primary, Budzinski said her first-term focus on bipartisanship has helped the working class, veterans and family farmers throughout her district. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, backing House Democrats, describes Loyd as "too extreme and unqualified.""As the Democratic Nominee for Illinois’ 13th Congressional District, I look forward to highlighting the strong record of results I’ve been able to achieve, and the bipartisan approach I’ve taken to get things done for the people I serve," Budzinski said in a statement. "In the critical election ahead, I hope to earn the support of our voters once again.”
Who is Josh Loyd?
Loyd, a West Point graduate, has never served in elected office and positions himself as a political outsider. A fervent backer of the Second Amendment, he is opposed to the state's assault-style weapons ban but is also opposed to a federal abortion ban.
In Congress, he plans on targeting federal spending which he feels has been wasteful, allowing for the national debt to continue growing.Loyd:Running as a political outsider, Virden Republican seeks Congressional District 13 seat
