The District Republicans Hope Can Be Their Blueprint for 2024 Pickups
Establishment-backed Republican Liz Bishop (L) and conservative Crystal Loughran (R) are battling for the GOP nomination for the 76th House District, being vacated by Rep. Lance Yednock (D-Ottawa).
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The battle between mainstream conservatives and the right wing of the Republican Party could be on full display in a northern Illinois legislative district next year, and Republican leaders hope it could be a blueprint for picking up seats they’ve lost in recent cycles.
Rep. Lance Yednock (D-Ottawa) isn’t seeking re-election to the House in the 76th district, which stretches from LaSalle-Peru to Ottawa north to DeKalb and Northern Illinois University. It’s a district President Biden won by about 8 points in 2020 and Hillary Clinton won by about 7 points in 2016.
Yednock is a centrist, pro-union Democrat who shied away from the progressive wing of his own party.
House Republicans believe the district is ripe for flipping in 2024, and have recruited Liz Bishop of LaSalle as their preferred candidate in the race. Bishop is a former Deputy State Central Committeewoman.
But, pro-Trump, far right supporters are backing Crystal Loughran of Peru for the seat. (We could not reach Loughran for this story.)
Bishop says she believes the right Republican can win the seat.
“I really think it’s winnable, I think we can do it,” Bishop said. “It’s going to be a challenge, but I think it’s doable.”
Bishop says she’s not planning to focus on controversial social issues in her campaign, but instead “issues that unite us.” She cited fiscal responsibility, lower taxes, and economic growth as key priorities.
But, many Republican observers say just because Bishop may be a better candidate on paper to convince Democrats and independents to support her in the general election, she still has to navigate a far more conservative electorate in the primary.
“There’s been a divide in the Republican Party for years, decades even,” said one longtime GOP operative. “Except, it used to be conservatives versus moderates. Now it’s conservatives versus super-conservatives.”
But, Bishop says she’s not going to change who she is and will try to convince primary voters she can flip the seat to the GOP.
“I’m playing the long game, as in, what does the general election look like,” Bishop said. “I am more mainstream and staying hard right isn’t going to get us anywhere.”
But GOP operative say that’s a tough path to travel.
“This party belongs to Donald Trump and the farthest conservative wings of the GOP, especially downstate,” said the operative. “Unless you’re [moderate] Mark Kirk, you still have to show conservatives you’re with them to win a primary. Then you have to walk all that back to win a general. It’s really tough.”
Another conservative, Patrick Feehan, already dropped out of the race, which could have split the right wing vote to benefit Bishop.
But, if Bishop can navigate the potential primary land mines, Republicans hope it could be a blueprint to win back seats conservatives have lost in recent cycles.
