GOP Rep. Rodney Davis fends off Democratic challenger in Illinois

Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) fended off a challenge from Democrat Betsy Dirksen Londrigan for a second straight election, highlighting his resilience in a difficult political climate for Republicans.

The Associated Press called the race for Davis around 11:30 p.m. ET, with Davis leading by 20 percentage points with 68 percent of precincts reporting.

Davis had been one of the most vulnerable GOP incumbents this cycle. He barely survived his race against Londrigan during the 2018 anti-Trump blue wave that swept House Democrats into power. That year, he won reelection to a fourth term by a razor-thin margin of 2,058 votes, or less than 1 percentage point.

But while he’s rarely broken publicly with President Trump, Davis has had a reputation for working across the aisle, most notably on the House Administration Committee. As the panel’s top Republican, he’s worked with Democrats on a series of reforms to modernize Congress and to help lawmakers work remotely during the coronavirus pandemic.

Davis, who has been in office since 2013, tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this year and has called on leaders to implement a testing program in the Capitol.

Londrigan, who has never held public office but previously worked as a fundraiser for Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), made health care insurance the central issue of her campaign. She frequently talked about how her son Jack was hospitalized for 21 days after getting sick from a tick bite. And in ads and debates, Londrigan has attacked Davis for repeatedly voting to repeal ObamaCare without offering an alternative plan.

Illinois’s 13th District includes some suburbs outside of St. Louis, as well as the cities of Springfield, Bloomington and Decatur.