PEORIA, Ill. – A member of the family of new 16th District Congressman Darin LaHood, presumably, got to vote for his dad for the first time.
That’s not to say that dad didn’t have to give his son Lucas somewhat of a civics lesson, first.
“Luke actually sat next to me,” said LaHood (R-Dunlap). “We started filling out our ballots, and Luke looks over, and he said, ‘Dad, what’s a Libertarian?’ We hadn’t planned for that. So, I said, ‘Don’t vote for the Libertarian. Stick with the Republican, and we’ll talk about it later.’”
Some Peoria County election races had Libertarian candidates, along with every statewide office.
The 17th Congressional District seat in Congress was still too close to call Tuesday night, as Republican Esther Joy King and Democrat Eric Sorensen traded the lead all night long.
But, even before half the precincts were counted in the new 16th Congressional District, Republican Darin LaHood was declared the winner over longtime Peoria County resident Elizabeth Haderlein.
“We begin another race tomorrow,” said LaHood. “That race is to turn around the country. We’ve been frustrated in this election of what’s happened over the last two years.”
At one point in the night, LaHood was still optimistic that there would be a “red wave” of Republican victories, leading to their party’s easy control of the House. While Republicans are still expected to take control of the House, the balance of power is expected to be much closer.
He does say he hopes President Joe Biden proves to be more willing to work with the opposing party to get legislation passed.
