Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger was decisively re-elected over challenger Sara Dady to retain his post in Illinois’ 16th congressional district. Kinzinger announced his victory at the Grundy County GOP’s election night event in Morris, surrounded by local Republican leaders. He said his victory in the perennially-Republican district was thanks to his track record on traditional Republican values.
“I think it’s manufacturing -- we know it’s important," Kinzinger said. "It’s agriculture, it’s a growing economy -- which we’ve seen especially in the past couple years. It’s rebuilding our military. It's just good kinda downhome central-northern Illinois issues.”
Kinzinger prevailed on a night which saw Democrats win back the majority in the House of Representatives. Despite that, Kinzinger was confident the Republicans wouldn’t lose the House in a landslide.
“I think people like the economy," Kinzinger said after his victory. "I think people are obviously concerned about healthcare, that’s something we’re going to have to tackle. I think we need to do that with Democrats.”
This is will be Rep. Kinzinger’s fifth term in Congress. He said, even though Democrats will control the House now, he hopes his party can work together with them to fix key issues for the 16th district like infrastructure and the opioid crisis.
Meanwhile, in the northern part of the district, Democrat Sara Dady was cheered on by supporters at a union hall in her hometown of Rockford – long after Kinzinger declared victory in the race. She told the crowd she had come closer to beating a Republican incumbent in the district than any Democrat had in more than two decades. Dady said all the time she spent campaigning across the sprawling 16th district taught her something she hopes Kinzinger takes to heart.
“What I have learned is that this is not a blue district, this is not a red district," Dady said. "This is a district full of really good people. People who want their voices heard.”
Dady says she is proud of her run and feels she helped create more voter engagement in the district. Now she’s looking forward to focusing on her family and running her law firm.
Dady said she had a good conversation with Kinzinger when she called him to concede.
"I asked him if he would be open to having public town halls because that was the number one thing that I heard," Dady said. "People want to be heard. They want to see their U.S. Representative. And he indicated he’d be open to that. And I told him I hope so; otherwise I’d see him again in two years."