Former President Donald Trump endorsed Republican Illinois Rep. Mary Miller Saturday, shortly before Miller announced that she would run against fellow Republican Rep. Rodney Davis to represent the state’s 15th District.
Miller, a freshman, currently represents the 15th District. However, in a brutal gerrymander by the state legislature, Miller was drawn into the 12th District, which is currently represented by four-term incumbent and fellow Republican Mike Bost. Illinois’ congressional delegation includes five Republicans, but that number could shrink to as few as three. The state legislature also drew Republican Reps. Adam Kinzinger and Darin LaHood into the same district, although Kinzinger elected to retire. (RELATED: Illinois Democrats Seek To Maximize Their Party’s Seats, Axe Republicans In Proposed Congressional Map)
“Congresswoman Mary Miller is doing a fantastic job representing the people of Illinois! Strong on Election Security, the Second Amendment, and our Military and Vets, Mary is a champion of our America First agenda,” Trump said in a statement. “She fights hard against Joe Biden’s open borders, runaway inflation, and the radical indoctrination of our children.”
NEW: Freshman Rep. Mary Miller announces — very shortly after Trump publicly endorsed her — that she is running in Illinois’ 15th district where GOP Rep. Rodney Davis is also running pic.twitter.com/lztfw46fXL
— Olivia Beavers (@Olivia_Beavers) January 1, 2022
“President Donald Trump inspired me to run in 2020 because our country needs principled conservatives in Congress who always put America First,” Miller said in a statement. “Today, President Trump is endorsing me because I am a conservative fighter who is not afraid to take on the DC swamp.”
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy had reportedly worked to prevent a Trump endorsement of Miller due to previous party infighting. Miller, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, is considered more right-wing than Davis, who is in line to become the chairman of the House Administration Committee if Republicans take back the House of Representatives. Davis had previously downplayed the threat of a primary challenge.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever given the impression when I’ve been out here in the last nine years that I’m really afraid of much, so you take on all challenges,” he told Politico in December.
The Miller-Davis matchup is the second member versus member primary in the Illinois delegation. Democratic Reps. Sean Casten and Marie Newman are both running in the Sixth District. Illinois was one of seven states to lose a House seat due to slow population growth following the 2020 census.