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“Nikki Budzinski has dedicated her career to uplifting workers and fighting for the middle class, and when Illinoisans send her to Congress, she’ll fight like hell day in and day out to lower costs and increase economic opportunity in IL-13. While Nikki puts lowering costs for working families at the forefront of her agenda, her opponent Regan Deering’s record shows she’d sell out to corporate special interests and the most extreme elements of her party. Illinois’ 13th Congressional District represents one of Democrats’ best pickup opportunities across the House battlefield, and Nikki is an unwavering fighter who will flip this seat blue,” said DCCC Chairman Sean Patrick Maloney.
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To: Interested Parties
From: Elena Kuhn, DCCC Regional Press Secretary
Date: June 29, 2022
Subject: The Case For Nikki Budzinski
Last night, Nikki Budzinski decisively emerged from the Democratic primary in Illinois’ 13th Congressional District, setting up a clear choice in the general election. Nikki Budzinski will be a relentless fighter for workers and creating more Made in America jobs, while her opponent Regan Deering would be a rubber stamp for far-right extreme party leaders.
Nikki Budzinski worked for firefighters and meat packers unions, helping working families get fair wages and safe places to work. In Congress, she will help rebuild the middle class so all Illinoisans have a fair shot to get ahead. She knows how critical unions are in building and sustaining the middle class because she’s seen it firsthand growing up in Peoria, with her grandpa working as a union painter and her grandma as a public school teacher.
Nikki has always fought to ensure that those who protect our communities and power our economy get a fair day’s pay and the workplace protections they deserve. It’s why she led the effort to pass raising the minimum wage in Illinois, which has already gone up 3 times and will reach $15 per hour in 2025. She brought labor leaders and small businesses to the negotiating table and now Illinois workers are seeing more money in their paychecks. Nikki’s record also shows she has the grit and determination to get the job done.
It’s a stark contrast from her opponent Regan Deering, who has proven at every turn she would put loyalty to her party leaders over the priorities of Illinois families. Already Deering staked out extreme positions in order to win the Republican primary, including undermining our democracy by refusing to acknowledge that President Joe Biden legitimately won the 2020 election and supporting overturning Roe v. Wade, a decision that has opened the door to a nationwide abortion ban with no exceptions. Deering is worth as much as $140 million but opposes not just a nationwide $15 per hour minimum wage, but any minimum wage at all. She has no idea what it’s like for Illinois families and seniors who are trying to make ends meet.
Any trust fund multimillionaire can say they stand with Illinois workers, but there’s only one candidate in the race who has been on the front lines of bringing good-paying manufacturing jobs back to Illinois. Nikki is exactly the candidate who can be trusted to put middle-class Illinois families at the forefront of her agenda, tackle rising costs and inflation, and fight to keep Illinois communities safe.
This district is a coveted flip opportunity for Democrats across the entire House battlefield, and Nikki Budzinski is building a strong campaign rooted in Illinois values that will send her to Washington come November.
REGAN DEERING: OUT OF TOUCH WITH ILLINOIS
Regan Deering’s campaign for Congress has made one thing clear: she cannot be trusted to deliver for Central and Southern Illinois’ middle-class families. Deering is worth tens of millions of dollars but opposes any federal minimum wage — even as workers currently making $7.25 per hour can barely make ends meet in the face of the rising costs. Deering supports rolling back wages, meaning millions could make even less. Deering has also shown she’d be a reliable vote for Washington party leaders who have refused numerous opportunities to cut costs, and tried to block legislation to bolster supply chains and ensure we can outcompete China. Downstate Illinoisans can’t afford a trust fund multimillionaire who has no idea what it’s like to make ends meet in a tough economy.
Meanwhile, Nikki Budzinski has made fighting for working families and strengthening Illinois’ economy a cornerstone of her agenda. Nikki helped lead the Made in America office, using the power of the Office of Management and Budget to make sure taxpayers’ money buys American steel and other American made goods. She fought for and delivered a $15 minimum wage for Illinoisans, and she’ll bring that same results-driven, pragmatic leadership to Washington as she fights to make life more affordable for Illinois families.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
Illinois Times: An “old-school” candidate in a new district [Illinois Times, 5/6/22]
“Pragmatic, bipartisan, driven. Those words are used by both Republicans and Democrats to describe Nikki Budzinski, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for the 13th Congressional District.
But her friend U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Moline, uses a different term: “old-school.”
The Springfield native said Budzinski has the best-run congressional campaign in the nation. Bustos added she calls her “old-school” because she carves a middle path for herself.
“She is a strong advocate for working people and unions but she also wants to see businesses do well. She’s willing to reach across the aisle and work with Republicans. To her, ‘compromise’ is not a bad word.”
Labor Tribune: Labor, Democrats rally behind Nikki Budzinski’s congressional bid [Labor Tribune, 3/14/22]
Herald and Review: Congressional candidate: Decatur ‘incredibly important in the 13th’ [Herald and Review, 4/29/22]
“It’s about getting things done for working people,” Budzinski said. “And I really think that is going to bring together all voters to make sure that we have the majority and we’ll win in November.”
Budzinski said she would seek to find some short term solutions to relieve the pressure inflation has put on people, such as providing federal gas tax relief. But, she said the focus has to be long term as well.
“This is a problem that has really been building, in my opinion, for decades,” Budzinski said. “The pressures around the supply chain, the bottleneck of the supply chain, has also contributed toward inflation. And so I think we need to be looking at places like Decatur and how we’re going to build more things here.”
POLITICO: Democrats’ chance to save the House majority runs through these districts [POLITICO, 5/9/22]
“Perhaps Democrats’ single best target is in central Illinois, where the party transformed GOP Rep. Rodney Davis’ Springfield-area district into one Biden carried by 11 points. Davis jumped to a neighboring seat — and a primary against a fellow Republican incumbent, clearing the way for Democrat Nikki Budzinski, a former adviser to Gov. J.B. Pritzker.”
PATH TO VICTORY
Illinois’ 13th Congressional District is a newly open seat that offers a prime flip opportunity for Democrats. Under the newly reconfigured district lines, Democrats would have won every House, Senate, gubernatorial, and presidential race in this district since 2016, and the district has moved from a Trump +3 to a Biden +11. The district also got more diverse and now is made up of 20% Black voters — nearly double the share under the previous configuration.
Nikki Budzinski’s fundraising has far outpaced her opponent, and she ended the pre-primary period with over $1 million cash on hand, over 30 times as much as Deering. Republicans had to burn money on a competitive primary and enter the general election at a distinct disadvantage.
As Cook Political Report writes, “Nikki Budzinski is the early frontrunner for a Democratic pickup,” and POLITICO has noted that IL-13 is “Democrats’ single best target” to flip a previously Republican-held seat. Cook Political Report and Inside Elections rate this a lean Democratic seat.
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