Illinois U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski, D-Springfield, said she鈥檚 not taking anything for granted in her first reelection bid this November.
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鈥淲e're working really hard throughout the district to tell the story of the work that we've been doing in this first term and making the case for the work that I want to continue to be doing,鈥� Budzinski said on the latest episode of the Politically Speaking podcast.
While Illinois鈥� 13th Congressional District could be a swing district, stretching from a majority of the Metro East to Springfield and Urbana-Champaign, electoral analysts have it rated as a safe or solid Democratic seat this election cycle.
Challenger Joshua Loyd, R-Virden, will need to overcome a steep fundraising disadvantage to beat Budzinski. She has collected more than $3.3 million while Loyd has raised nearly $27,000, according to the latest reports from the .
Before running for office, Budzinski worked in the Biden administration, serving as the chief of staff in the Office of Management and Budget. The Peoria native also was a senior adviser to Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker. Before that, she worked for a number of unions in Washington, D.C.
After running uncontested in the primary, Budzinski is hoping a track record of bipartisan work will propel her to another two-year term.
Here are some of the topics discussed on the podcast:
- She believes winning federal funding, like a U.S. Department of Transportation , and her work on legislation affecting veterans and agriculture are some of her biggest accomplishments in her first term.
- She addressed waning working-class support for Democrats nationally after some unions declined to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris鈥� presidential campaign.
- Like many politicians, she鈥檚 in favor of blocking the sale of U.S. Steel, which owns Granite City Works in the Metro East, to the Japanese-based company Nippon.
Loyd appeared on STLPR's Politically Speaking last week. Both his and Budzinski's podcasts can be found at .
