Taking Back The House 2014: Rodney Davis

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After a brief break in the action, the Taking Back The House 2014 series is back and this time we are focusing on Illinois!  Without much further adu, let’s take a look at the 13th congressional district of the Prairie State.

This is freshman congressman Rodney L. Davis.  Davis might lack the notoriety of Michele Bachmann and may not be as well known locally as Mike Coffman, he still represents a seat that should be considered VERY winnable for Democratic activists.  He might be unknown to many readers, but let’s try our best to paint a picture to the name of Rodney Davis.

Legislation:
-Co-sponsor of two bills regarding abortion.  First co-sponsored bill with Rep. Diane Black is H.R. 217 which would “prohibit the Secretary of Health and Human Service (HHS) from providing any federal family planning assistance to an entity unless the entity certifies that, during the period of such assistance, the entity will not perform, and will not provide any funds to any other entity that performs, an abortion.”  The proposed bill would require the HHS to report all entities that perform abortions that were the result of incest/rape and if the mother’s life is in danger.
-Other co-sponsored bill is H.R. 732 that would ”amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit taking minors across State lines in circumvention of laws requiring the involvement of parents in abortion decisions.”

Headlines:

-Was named in a probe investigating Rep. Aaron Schock over ethics violations.  Not accused of any wrongdoing but accused not cooperating with authorities.
-Named one of the most vulnerable incumbents of the 2014 election cycle by the House Majority PAC.
-Member of “No Labels” group.

Electoral History:

2012:  Davis (R): 46.55%, David Gill (D): 46.21%, John Hartman (I): 7.6%

Cook PVI:
R+0

Potential Prospects:

David Gill might throw his hat into the ring again (has lost four times previously) but I believe the top prospect to run for this seat is State Senator Mike Frerichs.  Frerichs is young (39) and has won three elections to represent the 52nd Senate District of Illinois.

EDIT:  It has been brought to my attention that Frerichs has already demurred on a prospective Congressional run to seek statewide office.  Other candidates who have yet to decide include Champaign Mayor Don Gerard, State Senator Andy Manar and State Rep. Sue Scherer.

Why We Can Do This:

Redistricting made this seat a bit more bluer than years previous but it won’t be exactly the easiest seat to flip.  Barack Obama lost the district by less than half a percentage point to Mitt Romney but Davis’s anonymity could hurt him.  Also I would expect the DCCC to target Davis frequently and any slightly controversial moment could tilt the race into the Democrats hands.  Regardless of candidate, I expect this seat to always be a close one for Democrats.

Links You Oughta Check Out:

Official Website For Mike Frerichs
Official Facebook Page For Mike Frerichs
Official Twitter For Don Gerard
Official Twitter For Andy Manar

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