The head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee says if the party can frame the 2020 elections around health care, it can win some seats that Republicans have controlled for years.
U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-Moline) chairs the DCCC.
Bustos predicts Democrat Betsy Dirksen Londrigan of Springfield will perform better in the 2020 race against Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Taylorville) in the 13th Congressional District than she did last year when she lost to Davis by less than one percentage point.
"She lost only by the equivalent of only 3 votes per precinct. And I'm confident that she can win those votes and then some by just showing the kind of good person she is and what she'll fight for," said Bustos.
Londrigan has said health insurance saved her family from bankruptcy after her son had a life-threatening illness as a child.
Bustos says Democrats should run on health care next year after Davis and others tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
"When Rodney Davis voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act, he goes out on the White House lawn and is doing high-fives and laughing and joking how proud they were of repealing the Affordable Care Act," she said.
She also said that ultimately, voters want to elect a representative who will work hard and get results for their district.
Bustos herself has held her seat in the 17th Congressional District since 2013. Like the 13th Congressional District, the 17th voted for Republican Donald Trump over Democrat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election.
The 17th Congressional District traditionally leans Democratic, but did opt for Republican Bobby Schillng in 2010. The sprawling district stretches from Rockford in the north to the Quad Cities in the west. It also includes large swaths of Peoria and Pekin at its eastern edges.
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