An adjunct economics professor at Bradley University in Peoria is joining the race for U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood’s seat because he says the financial policy just doesn’t “math up.”
Before Joseph Albright taught accounting and other classes at Bradley, he was a campus police officer there for nine years. Before that he worked for almost a decade in health insurance. Albright says between his careers and his home life he has a personal stake in all the issues that form pillars of his campaign platform.
Albright said when he stepped into the voting booth and saw LaHood unopposed in the 17th Congressional District, covering a large swath of Central Illinois including parts of Peoria and Bloomington-Normal, what he felt was almost a “rage.”
“I had a lot of friends saying over the last couple years, ever since 2015 you know, you need to, you need to just chill, keep it quiet. It might be good for your mental health,” said Albright. “And I tried it for a couple weeks, but by February, I just couldn't anymore, and so my mother's voice was in my head: ‘put up or shut up.’ So I'm putting up.”
So far, Albright says “putting up” has looked like hosting events and ramping up grassroots fundraising efforts across the deep red district.
“The response has just been overwhelmingly positive. People are tired of not being represented,” said Albright. “I’m applying for the job. I don’t like to say I’m running for Congress. I’m applying for the job.”
Albright is openly critical of LaHood’s constituent services in the district. He claims LaHood has declined to hold town halls and meet with concerned voters, while echoing support of Trump administration economic policies Albright believes just don’t add up. LaHood has defended his record constituent contact.
“I want to do things that strengthen trade and rebuild our trust with our allies,” he said. “We shouldn't be stomping on them and right now, the world, as we see it, is building an open economy around us as we're closing our economy. So that doesn't make sense.”
Albright is particularly outspoken on tariffs. In his view as an economist Albright says “tariffs bad, free trade good.” He also argues they cause harm to the people of the district, particularly farmers.
Albright tells a story of one woman at a campaign event who told him her family were worried they may lose their farm in the next year.
“Losing a family farm, that's just devastating,” he said. “That's like, again, corn, soybeans. Soybeans are taking a hit right now because of the tariffs.”
Other issues Albright says are key to his campaign are protecting funding for Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, supporting unions and clean energy and jump-starting immigration reform.
Albright is also worried about broad cuts to infrastructure and service funding. He mentions road conditions and broadband access in the rural district, as well as Department of Education services.
“If the Department of Education or if states don’t get proper funding, I have two children that have autism, and so the youngest one, the IEP program at the school, was hugely impactful as far as making him able to have a good education and we’re worried about that going when other people have said the same thing,” Albright said.
Of course, the actual election for this seat would take place in November 2026, Albright wouldn’t take the position until January 2027. In that amount of time, any number of changes could occur to the various programs he’s basing large parts of his platform on.
Albright acknowledges this and says it’s an opportunity to bring services Americans want back better than before.
“That would be the goal, come back even better. But you still have to plan ahead of time as we're seeing things dismantled, is how we bring it back together?” he said. “Do we work with the states with some kind of an oversight, or do we bring it back entirely? It just depends on the condition that it's in during that time.”
On the topic of immigration, Albright does say he believes in a strong border, but that the naturalization process needs reformed and there need to be more “ports of entry.”
“[Immigrants] are afraid of going through the process and there’s a very long wait, there’s not enough resources here,” he said. “If we spent money on having that, obviously having borders where we have strong protection where we need to, a strong vetting process. We don’t want drug dealers in here either, nobody does.”
Albright does support sanctuary policies like those enacted by Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker. He says they’re supported by the 10th Amendment and don’t create more illegal immigrants, but rather protect and preserve the process immigrants are meant to go through.
“We’re trying to get you through the process and they shouldn’t be scooped up and shipped off to wherever as they’re going through the process,” Albright said. “[Pritzker] is exercising his 10th Amendment right to protect those people while they’re in the process.”
Albright is a self-described moderate — “left of center” but a moderate.
“I try to take all the information in,” he said. “I’m an educator, so I’m a critical thinker, so I like to take all the information in, things that make sense.”
Albright believes there’s an appetite for his moderate Democratic position, even in a deeply entrenched Republican district like the 16th.
He says when he talks to voters, they call it a “David and Goliath situation.”
“But then they’ll also say, 'But if there was ever a time? Now is the time,’” Albright said. “And then I come back and tell them that this is our time. This is our moment.”
Whatever the moment, elections in the district historically show Albright and other Democratic challengers for the seat will likely face an uphill battle. The incumbent LaHood fended off Democratic challenger Elizabeth Haderlein in 2022 by more than 30 points.
“If we don’t take this moment seriously, we could lose our democracy, seriously. I’m not exaggerating,” said Albright. “You see it every day, being torn away, and I don’t hear LaHood saying anything contrary to where it’s going.”
Democrat Paul Nolley and Republican John Kitover have also announced campaigns for the seat. The final election slate remains to be seen, as rumors circulate about a LaHood run for Democrat Dick Durbin’s Senate seat.
The general election will be Nov. 3, 2026.
