City Beat: Davis, Miller Race In 15th District Shows Clear Division In Republican Party

 

With the Primary Election still two-and-a-half months away on June 28 there is no shortage of fireworks between the candidates in the 15th Congressional District race. Rep. Rodney Davis of Taylorville and Rep. Mary Miller of Oakland are both Republicans but there is a sharp difference in their political views and that has already been playing out with some nasty news releases and stories about where each candidate stands and what he or she has done — or not done in representing the people in their districts. Davis is viewed as a moderate Republican while Miller is viewed as being at the far right edge of the party — at least that’s my assessment of their political leanings.

     Davis has represented the 13th District for nine years, has built up some important senority that benefits our area while Miller has represented the 15th District for a little over a year. Due to redistricting, Davis is running for re-election in the 15th District instead of the 13th. That’s why there’s two incumbents running in the 15th District. Over the years Davis has been in office he has stood up for veterans and voted for traditional values while addressing the needs of those who are in difficult straits.

     Earlier this year, former President Donald Trump endorsed Miller stating: “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.”… Since Miller has been in office a short time compared to Davis, there is not the long, impressive list of accomplishments to view. Perhaps, the most public “accomplishment’ by Miller came in the summer of 2021, when she was fined for failing to wear a mask on the House floor during the COVID-19 pandemic. Miller’s appeal was rejected.

     • OVER THE years before and since Davis won his first election to the Congressional seat that he has held for the past decade, he has always been available to sit down and talk with me about what he is doing to represent our district. We’ll sit down and chat again before the June Primary Election. I like Rodney as a person and an officeholder and I know that he is one of the hardest working members of Congress.

     • I REALLY don’t know Rep. Mary Miller at this point, except through news releases that are sent to me. I haven’t seen much, if any, of her presence in Decatur. Hopefully, we will be able to sit down and talk about her positions and relationship with the Trump organization. Certainly some of Decatur and Macon County are in the 15th District. I know my home is in the 15th so the candidates in this race are of special interest to me, not only as an editor, but on a personal level.

     • SOME believe that Rodney Davis is not the Republican moderate he once was, but, I don’t think it is Davis who has changed all that much. This is not the same Republican Party that it was ten years ago when Davis first won office. There has been a big push to the right of center and that makes it appear that Republican officeholders like Davis have changed.

     I can testify as an editor with pretty traditional values over the years, that a few in the community are viewing my comments as “liberal”. My beliefs and perspectives on the political scene have remained essentially the same. I’ve always been willing to listen and print the views of others who may disagree with me. There was a time that was an admirable trait. Now, it is sometimes viewed as “selling out to the other side” because the views of the “other side” should not be publicized — or so we are told in the present political climate.

     There is no doubt in my mind that The Republican Party is not the party it was a decade ago and is divided today — which is great news for the Democrat Party. The June 28 Primary Election will show how little, or how much, the Republican Party has drifted away from the Party we once knew. That’s the reality of what is happening in the Republican Primary Race in the 15th Congressional District.

     • I JOIN Brian Byers on WSOY’s Byers & Co. every Thursday at 7:00 AM.