Illinois state Sen. Darin LaHood (R) cruised to an easy special election primary victory on Tuesday in the vacant Peoria-anchored congressional district. Rep. Aaron Schock’s (R) March resignation created the vacancy, which is the only unrepresented seat in the entire U.S. House.
LaHood, whose father, Ray LaHood, represented the seat for 14 years before becoming President Obama’s Transportation Secretary, topped 69 percent of the vote against two weak GOP opponents who spent less than $50,000 combined on their campaigns. Democrats officially nominated educator Rob Mellon, an Army Reserve officer who lost his party’s congressional primary in 2014.
LaHood will easily defeat Mellon, but must wait until September 10 for the next vote in what is an unusually long special election cycle. His eventual victory will bring the House party division back to 247 Republicans – 188 Democrats, the spread generated on Election Night 2014.
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