Davis makes one last stop in Quincy before primary voters head to polls in tightly-contested 15th District race

QUINCY — Rodney Davis said he believes former President Donald Trump got “bad advice” regarding his endorsement of Mary Miller, who he’s running against in the Republican primary for the 15th District.

Trump called Miller ‘a fearless America First patriot” before he introduced her during Saturday’s “Save America!” rally at the Adams County Fairgrounds in Mendon. Davis said Monday afternoon during a quick campaign stop at Madison Park that he’s not running away from his record of working with Trump and his administration.

“I’m the only member of Congress in this race who actually worked with (former) President Trump when he was president,” Davis said. “I helped write the Trump tax cuts. I helped craft a student loan repayment bill. That’s now a law that the President signed into law. It’s a voluntary private sector approach, rather than this left wing crap you hear out of Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren about expunging debt. 

“I’ve actually passed, with President Trump’s help because he signed them into law, ideas that are conservative, that are private sector based, that are voluntary. Washington, D.C., should not be the only level of government where America expects a dysfunction. You don’t expect it at your city level, you don’t expect it at the county, and you certainly don’t expect it at the state. We shouldn’t expect it in Washington. We need people with experience who are going to stick by our core values and principles.”

Davis, 52, is a Taylorville native. He is serving his fifth term in Congress representing the 13th District. but now he is running against Miller in the re-drawn 15th District.

Davis said he didn’t get to watch the rally in Mendon.

“I was glad (Trump) was talking about his record,” he said. “(Trump) deserves all the credit for appointing three justices who overturned Roe v. Wade, something I never thought would happen in my lifetime. The leaked draft (of Justice Sam Alito’s opinion), that should be a criminal charge. But in the end, it didn’t change much, which I was excited for, especially being 100% pro-life like I am.

“Unfortunately, though, nothing’s going to change in Illinois, because we have Democrats like (Gov.) JB Pritzker and those who run the General Assembly who have even allowed your tax dollars to go toward abortions. Most Americans don’t even support that policy, but Democrats in Illinois do. That’s why it’s so important to elect pro-life Republicans up and down the ticket and take away their stronghold here in the state.”

Other topics Davis addressed on Monday were:

• His support of Kevin McCarthy, House minority leader, as Speaker of the House. 
• Using “the laws we already have” to charge people for crimes and use of illegal firearms.
• The importance of electing “strong prosecutors” throughout the state.

Miller told the people in attendance in Mendon on Saturday that she was “running against a RINO (Republican in Name Only) named Rodney Davis, who has betrayed conservatives.”

Davis says he’ll stand behind his record.

“I stand up for our core values and conservative principles,” he said. “I’ve got a 100 percent pro-life voting record. I didn’t know you could get higher than 100 percent. I’ve got a lifetime A rating with the NRA (National Rifle Association), and I’ve been endorsed in every general election I’ve ever run by the NRA. I’m a proud supporter of the Second Amendment.”

A poll commissioned last week by the Illinoize political newsletter gives Davis 38 percent of the vote and Miller 35 percent, with 27 percent of Republican primary voters still undecided. A separate survey from Republican polling firm Cygnal shows Miller getting 44.6 percent of the vote and Davis 40.1 percent, with 15 percent still on the fence.

Davis was in Decatur and Jacksonville earlier Monday and was headed to Springfield. He says he’ll travel to Lincoln and Elkhart on Tuesday before heading to his hometown to watch the results.

“We’re expecting a great night,” he said. “I’m so proud of the team we put together. Our team has already knocked on 125,000 doors. We’re ready for tomorrow, but the key is you’ve got to get out and vote. … I need your vote. You want common sense in Washington to continue? Then I need your vote.”