IL-14: Sue Rezin the Bull-fighter with the Winning Record, Part 1: Strengths

Senator Sue Rezin & husband Dr. Keith Rezin

Today, McHenry County Blog continues its series based on the initial rankings published October 18, ranking the candidates in the 14th district Republican primary.

The rankings, based on the objective evidence of 3rd quarter fundraising and observations are as follows, with links to their articles focusing on their candidacies:

  1. Jim Oberweis (Part 1 & Part 2)
  2. Ted Gradel
  3. Sue Rezin
  4. Catalina Lauf (Part 1, Part 2a & Part 2b)

All four of the top-tier candidates according to McHenry County Blog were confirmed by the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) as On the Radar Young Guns candidates, after the latest NRCC announcement on October 30.

Today, we begin a 2-part series to focus on Sue Rezin, who ranked #3 of the top-tier candidates, and is now On the Radar.

Rezin’s strengths can be outlined into 3 parts:

  • Perfect Electoral Record
  • Legislative Accomplishments
  • Love of God and Country

Perfect Electoral Record

On July 9 when announcing her entry into the 14th congressional district race, Rezin’s campaign included the following concerning her electoral success:

“Rezin has won every election she entered beginning with an upset victory in defeating longtime Illinois State Representative Careen Gordon who was an incumbent Democrat heavily backed by Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan’s money and operation in a Tier One race.

“Previous to her race against Rezin, Gordon repeatedly won a series of tough election challenges.

“This is a seat Republicans have held ever since.

“Since then Rezin won reelection to the Illinois State Senate three times including two Tier One races against Christine Benson who is the sister of Chicago Democrat Congressman Mike Quigley.”

Rezin for Congress Press Release July 9
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Given the 14th district’s freshman Democrat Lauren Underwood won last year and is favored to win reelection given her fundraising and the dynamics of a presidential election, Rezin emphasizing her strength of winning against heavily backed Democrats focuses her message she is the proven winner.

Not only has Rezin won 4 elections to the Illinois General Assembly, she also flipped the 75th representative district in 2010, over 3-term Democrat incumbent Careen Gordon in a district that elected Democrats going back to the 1990s.

Considering the huge challenge the Republican nominee faces against Underwood in terms of fundraising and media coverage, Rezin is ready for these kinds of high profile general elections and is the only candidate in the 14th district race to flip a Democrat seat.

For Republican primary voters who value “winning is the name of the game” for next year’s General Election matchup against Underwood, Rezin makes the strongest case.

Sue Rezin

After winning election to the state House of Representatives, Rezin never served in the House.

Shortly after the 2010 general election, 2-term State Senator Gary Dahl resigned from the senate, and Republican party county chairs appointed Representative-elect Rezin to the state senate to serve the remaining 2 years of Dahl’s term.

She won elections in 2012, 2014 and 2018 to keep the senate seat in tier-one races.

In other words, Rezin has beaten Illinois Democrats, while successfully flipping a longtime Democrat-held district in 2010 and took the Democrats’ best shots in order to keep her senate seat.

A Republican with a record of beating credible Illinois Democrats is something not many Republicans can claim.

None of the other 7 candidates in the 14th come close to this record, with 5 of them making their first runs for public office, and the other two having run for Congress, both House and Senate, and lost, either in the primary or the general.

Recently, Rezin earned the “Bull-fighter” moniker given her quick, sharp and decisive responses to a questionable poll released in September, and last week, the tainted Lake County Republican Party endorsement in the 14th district race.

Judging by comments about Rezin’s responses both here on McHenry County Blog and on Capitol Fax, Rezin won admiration, respect and likely supporters for her ability to call out questionable actions by/favoring one of her opponents.

Given Underwood, the Democrats and their socialist allies are praising the freshman congresswoman as one of the most effective freshmen in the House of Representatives in recent memory, Rezin is showing Republican primary voters she can cut through the faux praise and expose it for what it really is — something to fertilize the lawn.

Here is an Underwood praise example published this week:

“Less than halfway through her first term, Underwood has accomplished what has historically taken new members of Congress in the majority party a full two years to achieve, according to data on lawmakers’ legislative effectiveness from the Center for Effective Lawmaking, a joint research institution between Vanderbilt University and the University of Virginia.

“In ten months, Underwood has introduced 15 bills and four amendments. For comparison, freshmen of the majority party of the past two Congresses — Republicans — introduced an average of 13 bills throughout the entire two years of their first terms.”

Source: Courier Newsroom
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Rezin thus far has shown she is the best prepared to deal with this kind of coverage of opponents.

And Rezin has a proven record of winning 4 general elections to back it up.

Legislative Accomplishments

Rezin has proven she can introduce bills in the state senate, and get them passed.

She has had 11 bills where she is the primary sponsor signed into law, and several more where she was a cosponsor.

And given the Republicans are in the minority, or super-minority in the state senate, these accomplishments are no small feat.

During the current session, her Sudden Infant Death Syndrome protection bill was signed into law during the summer.

And while her higher profile SB 2026 for preexisting conditions protections legislation passed the Senate unanimously and the House with the governor’s veto being sustained last month, passing high profile legislation on healthcare demonstrates Lauren Underwood isn’t the only one with a record to protect patients with preexisting conditions.

Given Rezin had legislation move through the legislative process, signed into law, even from the minority party, will be something to compare the overly partisan legislation Underwood will be taking credit for in the general election, but going nowhere in the U.S. Senate let alone being signed into law.

After receiving the 2019 Transformer of the year award October 2

Love of God and Country

The Rezins, both Sue Rezin and her husband Dr. Keith Rezin, do not have to say they love God and country. Their lives, the fruit of the blessings they’ve received in their 34 years of marriage, exhibits the sharing of the blessings they received not only in their home to raise four children to adulthood, but in the community.

The Rezins met when they attended Augustana College, and married shortly after graduating. Both paid their own way through school.

After settling in Morris, Sue Rezin’s serving the community included:

  • Morris Hospital Foundation Board
  • Community Foundation of Greater Grundy County
  • We Care of Grundy County Board
  • Charity Foundation Board of State Senator Gary Dahl
  • Make-A-Wish Foundation of Northern Illinois
  • Coached Volleyball for 12 years
  • Served on the local school board
  • 2009 Lincoln Series Inductee honored for her philanthropic work and dedication to bettering her community
  • 2019 Legislator of the Year by VFW Illinois
  • 2019 Transformer of the year by Transform Illinois

Rezin, who is pro-life, is not only a product of the American dream, but through serving the community in many ways over the years, has helped enable others to achieve the American dream, too.

These life experiences will help Rezin overcome anything Underwood will say to try to convince voters she and Democrats best represents the community.

Like fooling the voters last year about the kind of nurse Underwood is, similar lies will be debunked by the Bull-fighter in Rezin due to her strengths.


Comments

IL-14: Sue Rezin the Bull-fighter with the Winning Record, Part 1: Strengths — 15 Comments

  1. A great record and accomplishments, including community service, by Rezin. She IS the one to take on Underwood.

  2. If I ran under my pseudonym Chubb Snarkles Mealdeal, I’d win in a landslide.

  3. I apologize in advance, of any College Party Costume pics and any Ancient Roman Bacchus Worshipers, I’ve offended.

  4. Mr. Lopez, I was going through her webpage and couldn’t determine where she lives.

    Do you have any idea?

  5. This race COULD be one of the best pick ups for Republicans nationally.

    Usually incumbents are vulnerable for their first reelection and if they survive that they develop more and more support and stay in office 20 years or more.

    In a presidential election with high turnout it won’t be easy for Republicans to defeat Underwood.

    If we nominate an untested candidate or one who has lost 6 out of 6 races, or another who has lost 4 out of 4, we will lose.

    One candidate has won 5 out of 5 –Rezin.

    It’s no brainer about who is poised to win with the proven electoral skills and the inner strength to defeat Underwood. Rezin has demonstrated she has the inner strength and strategic approach to prevail in tough elections.

    In that regard Rezin stands alone.

    Every one of Rezin’s 4 state legislative elections has been against a female Democrat and Rezin has always prevailed.

    She defeated one of Madigan’s incumbents in her first state legislative race and then twice defeated Christine Benson for reelection to the State Senate.

    Bensen is Chicago Democrat Congressman Mike Quigley’s sister.

    Rezin’s fourth state legislative race was also against a female opponent.

    Rezin has proved time and again she has what it takes to beat liberal Democrats with strong party backing and who are female.

    Our other primary candidates have never beaten an incumbent, won a tough Tier One race or defeated a female candidate.

    Some have never ever won an election period.

    Rezin has the whole package.

    Plus her nine years in the State Senate are rated a cumulative 83 percent conservative by the American Conservative Union.

    Reagan said he would a deal where he got 80 percent of what he wanted every time he could.

    That’s one reason why he was so successful.

  6. The “best pick ups” for the Nation, would be for Illinois to lose four seats instead of just two in the next Census.

  7. She would do better with women than any other GOP candidate.

    She’s not too old or too young (sometimes people complain about candidates being too old or too young).

    She can raise funds.

    She has experience.

    She has the potential to bring conservatives and moderates together.

    She’d be the strongest candidate if it weren’t for her residency.

    That alone may be an insurmountable obstacle in an otherwise winnable contest.

  8. Mr. Wheeler (11:13AM), please refer to the map in this article which has the latest information of the residencies of all of the candidates running in the 14th in the primary, and Congresswoman Underwood: http://mchenrycountyblog.com/2019/10/21/il-14-first-impressions-of-newly-minted-republican-candidate-jerry-evans

    As “Correcting” already pointed out and is known, while Rezin meets the legal requirements for running for Congress in the 14th district, she currently does not live in the physical boundaries of the 14th district.

    My Opportunities about Rezin article will be posted by tomorrow, and that will be a component, so I’ll defer any additional comment until then.

  9. 2/3 of her current State Senate district are already in the 14th Congressional District.

    She knows her district…both of them.

    Residency is a red herring for those supporting other candidates in the race.

    Sue has the best chance…and resume, to run Underwood out.

    No one else will be able to win over the moderate Republican, or liberal Dem women needed to win this race.

  10. Mr. Wheeler so you would rather nominate a proven loser six times over who will almost surely lose yet again, rather than a proven winner?

    Living a few miles out of a district where the boundaries will change in two years is not a big deal for most voters.

    Just like it’s not a big deal that Oberweis’ own wife lives in Florida.

    Just like your supporter Mark Shaw’s recruited candidate for Congress in 10th District who does not reside in the 10th District.

    Should voters not vote for her because she lives a few miles outside the 10th District.

    Please, Mark Shaw needs to know.

    Rezin represents thousands of voters in the 14th Congressional District.

    I have missed your reasons why Oberweis is the best possible choice for Republicans to make.

    He but not his wife live in the district.

    Ok.

    But what are his unique abilities to beat incumbent Lauren Underwood?

  11. Mr. journalist wannabe, 24 hours without Catalina may be too much for me to handle. Could you please post something about her favorite food, movie preferences, or pet interests? Please understand I am answering your call to read this sunshine blog more closely. Stay tuned…360 more days…tic,tock, tic,tock, tic, tock, meeeeeeoooooooooowwwwwwwwwwww…

  12. Rezin joined with Pritzker and Madigan to double the gas tax and for the trade-in tax.

    Rezin is no conservative.

  13. Rezin did absolutely nothing to reduce spending before voting for massive tax increases.

    She also attacked econd amendment rights by voting for the red flag law, and she voted to give driver’s licenses to illegal aliens.

  14. Mr. Charles Schmidt, “massive tax increases”?

    Could you be a little more specific?

    We all know about the Capital Bill, but what other tax increases are you referring?

    “Drivers License to illegal aliens”?

    There is an inconsistency with Rezin, because she was one of only two senators to vote against the SB 172 that allows for the possibility of an illegal immigrant being a student trustee.

    Jim Oberweis voted in favor of it.

    And last month, Jeanne Ives pointed at that legislation as a kind of law at the heart of the Dan Crenshaw issue in the 6th.

    And Rezin voted against it and Oberweis voted for it.

    Something to consider.

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