A seventh Democrat has announced plans to challenge Republican Rodney Davis in the 13th Congressional District.
Erik Jones, a former Illinois assistant attorney general from Edwardsville, announced his intention to run Monday. He joins a growing Democratic field of challengers hoping to unseat Davis, who was first elected to 2012.
“Illinois needs to send bulldogs, not backslappers, to Congress to confront our challenges,” Jones said in a statement. “We’ve grown too comfortable with low expectations of our leaders. It’s time we raise the bar, and that starts with changing who we send to Washington.”
Jones previously served as an investigative counsel for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight. Later, he served as the chief investigative counsel for the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce. As an Illinois assistant attorney general, Jones “took on big banks that were forcing Illinois workers to swallow ridiculous fees for simply accessing the pay they rightfully earned,” his campaign said.
“I’m running for Congress because our best days can still be ahead of us if we stand up and fight for them. And, when it comes to speaking up for underdogs and fighting for everyday people, I’ll put my record up against anyone’s,” Jones said.
The sprawling 13th Congressional District includes portions of Bloomington-Normal and parts or all of 14 counties, stretching all the way to southern Illinois.
The potential Democratic field of challengers now includes:
- Repeat candidate Dr. David Gill of Bloomington
- State Rep. Carol Ammons of Urbana
- Jonathan Ebel from the Department of Religion at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Ben Goetten, the state's attorney in Jersey County
- Ben Webb, an English and Theater teacher at University High School in Normal
- Betsy Dirksen Londrigan of Springfield, a fundraiser for U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation
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