U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.) announced his plan to run for re-election in the newly redrawn 8th congressional district, a suburb of Chicago. The Tea Party Republican made his announcement Thursday in a speech to the Chicago Tax Day Tea Party.
Mr. Walsh, a popular Tea Party Republican in his state, will run in a dramatically different district than he was elected to in 2010. The Democrat dominated Illinois state legislature redrew its’ election map in accordance with the 2010 census.
He was given the option of running in the Republican friendly 14th district against fellow Republican Rep. Randy Hutgren, but decided to move forward with his re-election campaign.
“It just didn’t feel right to me,” Mr. Walsh said to a room of Tea Party supporters Thursday night, The Daily Caller reports.
To stay out in the 14th, in a nice safe Republican district, [and] take on another Republican in the primary when the Democrats have drawn an eighth district, my old district, my current district, and reconfigured it to be very Democratic. We Republicans are gonna just let that go. It didn’t feel right,” the Illinois Republican added.
He will have to rely on his popularity among independent voters and his strong Tea Party base to be victorious in next year’s election.
Mr. Walsh also expressed his opposition to negotiating with House Democrats, promising to stand firmly behind his priciples concerning the U.S economy and other domestic issues.
“I don’t believe that most Americans are mad at Washington because we’re not getting along,” Mr. Walsh stated in an interview with The Daily Caller.
“I believe that most Americans are mad at Washington because we’re not bold enough in stopping ourselves from falling off this cliff,” the Illinois Rep. said Friday.
Mr. Walsh will face an uphill battle in the new Democrat leaning district against Iraq war veteran Tammy Duckworth.
“The people here want a member of Congress who is going to look for practical solutions to the problems that they are facing. They are not looking for a member of Congress to be a poster child of the Tea Party,” Ms. Duckworth said about the prospects of running against Mr. Walsh in the upcoming election.
