U.S. Senate 2022: Meet the Republican Challengers Thus Far

As U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth prepares to run for reelection to a seat where an incumbent has not won reelection since 1986, potential challengers making themselves known

First term U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D, Hoffman Estates) prepares for her reelection campaign kickoff later this month.

The Senate seat she occupies has not been won by an incumbent seeking reelection since 1986. Since then, incumbents:

  • 1992: Senator Alan Dixon lost the Democratic primary to Cook County Recorder of Deeds Carol Moseley Braun
  • 1998: Senator Carol Moseley Braun lost her reelection bid to Republican state Senator Peter Fitzgerald
  • 2004: After threats of Republican primary challengers due to recommending President Bush to nominate Patrick Fitzgerald (no relation) U.S. Attorney for the northern district, Senator Peter Fitzgerald bows out, paving the way for Democrat state Senator Barack Obama’s election and eventually 2 terms as the President of the United States four years later
  • 2010: Appointed incumbent Democrat Senator Roland Burris did not seek bid for election in the Democrat primary, which state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias won, and lost in the general to 5-term Republican Congressman Mark Kirk
  • 2016: Senator Mark Kirk lost his reelection bid to Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth

Through today, four Republicans have submitted Statements of Candidacy with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to run for U.S. Senate in 2022.

While filing with the FEC does not mean filing nominating petitions for the March 15 Republican primary this November, it is likely some if not all 4 Republican candidates will be in attendance at Saturday’s McHenry County Republican Party’s Lincoln Leadership Dinner in Crystal Lake.

While none of the candidates would be considered top-tier (current or former elective public official countywide, IL General Assembly or Congress), in the paraphrased words of Apollo Creed from the 1976 movie Rocky, without a top-tier Republican, what Duckworth needs to face is a novelty.

Meet the candidates in order of filing with the FEC for 2022:

Peggy Hubbard

Peggy Hubbard

Website: https://t.co/TgRIPa5A9E?amp=1

Peggy Hubbard ran in 2020 for U.S. Senate, finishing a distant 2nd behind primary winner former Sheriff Mark Curran.

Allison Salinas

Allison Salinas

Website: https://www.salinas4ussenate.org/

Allison Salinas is from downstate Pekin and this is her first run for public office.

Tim Arview

Tim Arview

Website: https://t.co/Jeo8bhbrIV?amp=1

From downstate West Frankfort, Arview declared his candidacy in early April.

Rob Cruz

Rob Cruz

Website: https://www.cruzforus.info/

Rob Cruz is the only Republican candidate thus far from the Chicago suburbs (Oak Lawn), and the only candidate elected to local public office, winning election last month to the Oak Lawn Community High School District #229 school board, coming in 3rd in a 5-candidate race where top 4 win.

==================

Only one other candidate has filed with the FEC to challenge Duckworth, a 3rd party candidate (“George Wallace Party”) named Daniel Obama Hauskins from Quad Cities (Rock Island).

From the desk of John Lopez: Of the four Republicans at this early stage, Cruz appears to be the one who could breakout from the pack. According to a Friend of McHenry County Blog, Cruz’s campaign is being managed by Will County Republican Chairman George Pearson.

Also, Cruz has a big fundraiser scheduled for May 25, and on the 28th kicking off the Memorial Day holiday weekend, Cruz will be featured with two McHenry County residents seeking office next year, gubernatorial candidate Gary Rabine and IL-16 congressional candidate Catalina Lauf at an event with Scott Presler as the special guest.

Time will tell if a top-tier Republican current/former officeholder is recruited or steps forward to seek the nomination for U.S. Senate.

The 2022 Illinois U.S. Senate race is already rated as “Safe Democrat”.

If the upcoming congressional remap drives one of the 5 Republicans currently serving in the U.S. House from Illinois into the U.S. Senate race, they will immediately move to frontrunner status.

But for now, the Republican field, while not far from set, has four candidates to evaluate over the spring and summer. Salinas is confirmed she will be in Crystal Lake Saturday.

If the remaining candidates are not in attendance, their surrogates/volunteers likely will be.


Comments

U.S. Senate 2022: Meet the Republican Challengers Thus Far — 16 Comments

  1. Lopez is on it.

    I was just about to send Skinner the ballotpedia link with the candidates.

    I just found out how many candidates were running and was like “WHAAAAAAAAAAAT”?!

    Last I heard there were two candidates in the GOP primary, now I know of at least four.

    Good job with the history of that seat and a background on the candidates.

    I believe Arview ran for state rep in the 117th district but lost the primary to Dave Severins who got nearly 86 percent of the vote.

    I am not impressed with any of these people.

    This is looking like a weak field; it’s looking like a repeat of 2020.

    These people have zero clout with the exception of Hubbard (who lost in the 2020 primary).

    It does appear that Scott Pressler will be pushing Rob Cruz though since Cruz is listed on the Kankakee GOPJAMBOREE event along with Catalina Lauf, who was endorsed by Pressler.

    (Does that mean Rabine has been endorsed by Pressler?)

    If the primary were today, the top tier candidates would be Hubbard and Cruz in my opinion.

    “a 3rd party candidate (“George Wallace Party”) named Daniel Obama Hauskins from Quad Cities (Rock Island).”

    ^LOL^

    Third party signature requirements are very high, unless a judge is going to lower them again due to the pandemic as happened in 2020.

    This Daniel Obama Hauskins character might not get on the ballot.

    It might be difficult for him to get people to sign a petition for the George Wallace Party…

    If a Green or PSL candidate runs, that might hurt Duckworth.

  2. Hubbard is a Democrat…..

    she took out years of Democrat ballots in primaries.

    I can’t trust her one minute.

  3. Those Republicans won’t win.

    They’re unknown and underfunded. ☹️

  4. People often ask how a candidate plans to win, what chance they have, etc.

    What people fail to realize is that it is up to YOU, the voters.

    It isn’t up to us.

    If someone can buy their way into office, is that really the person you want representing you?

    How can you be sure they actually represent YOU?

    As someone from southern Illinois, I can tell you that I have NEVER felt like my representatives truly represented my values.

    The Chicago machine runs the election.

    That’s not how it’s supposed to be.

    And it doesn’t have to be like that.

    Candidates from north of I-70 don’t have to campaign anywhere south because the Democrats don’t feel like they can win any votes and Republican candidates assume people will vote for them anyway.

    But when it comes time to actually REPRESENT us, they have no idea what our concerns are.

    That’s why I’m running.

    My political views are 100% conservative.

    I don’t know for sure, but I believe I may be the only candidate to have never voted Democrat.

    I was Republican in Franklin County when being Republican wasn’t cool.

    Yes, I did run in 2020 against Dave Severin because of his vote on the gas tax.

    With only $3,000 raised, I got 15% of the vote.

    The reason I didn’t win is because I spent a lot of time outside the 117th district, getting to know people all over the state, and I depended on myself too much and didn’t raise funds the way I should have. Lesson learned.

    I would welcome the opportunity to speak to any Republican groups.

    Yesterday, I drove up to Oak Lawn (4 1/2 hours one-way) to support an America First Back The Blue rally.

    Do any of the other candidates do this?

    I sort of understand the mindset of voting for the person whom you believe has a better chance to beat Tammy Duckworth.

    But the fact is, the voters decide that.

    You can elect anyone you want.

    You just have to support them.

  5. MsTrumpion, to answer your question about where I stand on BLM, antifa, and transgenders in women’s sports, I believe that much of this is Democratic talking points that the PEOPLE don’t support.

    I have two daughters and two granddaughters.

    I can tell you that my support of the Second Amendment will take care of any situation they might find themselves in from a man who claims to be a woman.

    God made women with unique traits that men do not and cannot possess, no matter what surgery they get.

    I hope that answers that part of the question.

    As for BLM, again, I believe that there are people who feel as though society has turned on them and made them a target.

    It’s important for us to show them love and concern while maintaining the integrity of our law enforcement agencies.

    Police are not the bad guys and most people know that and have no issue with police.

    But there is a politicized group that wants these people to feel as though police are intentionally targeting them.

    This group needs to be shut down because they have gone way beyond freedom of speech by inciting riots and violence against police and conservatives of all races.

    Antifa, in spite of what they want to tell you, are not “anti-fascist.”

    They are terrorists, plain and simple.

    They are the same, and most likely worse, than the BLM groups that encourage violence.

    I believe the videos of antifa encounters with police speak for themselves.

    They’re nothing but thugs, anarchists, and domestic terrorists.

  6. Eddie, thank you for catching the error with 2010 election, and you’re right, Burris did not seek election for full term, though he wanted to, he didn’t have the support and did not run.

    Got Burris mixed up with then Cook County Board President Todd Stroger, who should have declined seeking a 2nd term, and he lost badly in the 5-way Democrat primary to Toni Preckwinkle that year, with Stroger finishing last.

    I’ve applied correction to the article.

  7. Eddie is right. These were the U.S. Senate candidates in the Dem primary in 2010:

    “Alexi Giannoulias, Illinois Treasurer[13]
    David H. Hoffman, Chicago inspector general[14]
    Cheryle Jackson, President of the Chicago Urban League[15]
    Robert Marshall, doctor[16]
    Jacob Meister, attorney.[17] Meister dropped out two days before the election and endorsed Giannoulias, but his name remained on the ballot.[18]” (Wikipedia)

    Remember the Democrats forced Roland Burris to not run again because he was appointed by Rod Blagojevich, while Blagojevich was in a lot of trouble, and Burris was seen as tainted and unelectable because of that.

    It was quite funny.

    First, the Democrats, the party of inclusion and equality, bullied an elderly black man out of office based on some weird political calculation.

    Then, they lost the seat anyway. hahahahahahahhaahaha

    You think any Democrats apologized to Roland Burris for that?

    I doubt it. These people have no shame.

    They only lust for power by any means necessary.

    That’s why they cheat in elections, that’s why they say they are anti-racist but call Tim Scott an Uncle Tom, that’s why they berate women who don’t vote for Democrats.

    They don’t care.

    They have no moral compass.

    All they know is they want power.

    And usually they’re pretty good at getting it, but they got mollywomped in 2010.

  8. Hi John. 🙂

    Cook County GOP Chair Sean Morrison must be really busy with his business, Palos Township Committeeperson duties and long hours as Cook County Commissioner, to assist Rob Cruz. ☹️

  9. Wow.

    I’ve never been more underwhelmed about anything.

    Could the last Republican in Illinois turn out the lights.

  10. @Tim Arview:

    You’d had better investigate BLM before you make a statement like the one you made.

    The movement is led by communists and not your normal person of color.

    Besides ALL LIVES MATTER.

  11. I think you misunderstood my statement.

    The organization is weaponizing the community, plain and simple. Every person who says “black lives matter” is not necessarily a communist.

    The group is preying on them and using them as cannon fodder while they continue to grow their bank accounts.

    I have seen many videos (often taken down quickly by social media platforms) of founding members exposing what the group has become.

    They WANT to create a war between blacks and whites.

    Blacks are not the enemies of whites and vice versa.

    These organizations are the enemy.

  12. John, you’re welcome. 🤓

    Correcting, you’re so correct about Democratic racism regarding Black candidates. ☹️

    Examples:

    1976 – Chicago Ald. Wilson Frost (34), President Pro Term, wasn’t allowed to replace deceased Mayor Richard J. Daley. Instead, Ald. Michael Bilandic (11) was chosen and Frost became Finance Chairman.

    1990 – Cook County Finance Chair John Stroger was denied the Cook County Board Presidency. Outgoing Prez George Dunne supported State Senator Ted Lechowicz. Richard Phelan won. Stroger won in 1994.

    2010 – When Scott Lee Cohen was disqualified for Lieutenant Governor, Governor Pat Quinn chose Sheila Simon, over 2nd Place State Representative Art Turner, Sr.
    ☹️

  13. ** I can tell you that my support of the Second Amendment will take care of any situation they might find themselves in from a man who claims to be a woman.**

    Oh, cool.

    You think folks should shoot transgender folks.

    You’ve got to be kidding me.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *