As we now head towards the General Election in November, one of the “new people” on the block is certainly Iroquois County Board member Thomas Lynch. He’s a resident of Cissna Park, won the Congressional 2nd District Republican Primary, and will be running against the Democratic incumbent Congresswoman Robin Kelly, in the fall.
The redesigned 2nd District starts in Chicago, and then makes its way well downstate. But Lynch says even when he campaigns in Chicago, he finds people who want something different.
AUDIO: And the sentiment’s pretty much the same. They want a regular person in Washington because the people in Washington have continually disregarded what the people actually care about. So I think that’s going to be the sentiment going into the General (Election).
Lynch works for the state as a meat and poultry inspector. And he says relating to the needs of the farming community is certainly an advantage, as he cites one big issue as an example.
AUDIO: Well I think the first and foremost is energy prices. Energy runs everything. It runs the trucks that move the grain. It runs the farming equipment that plants and harvests the grain. Everything from start to finish with farming, or in all reality almost every industry, starts with the gas prices; starts with fuel prices. Fuel prices and inflation are definitely the top key points on everyone I’ve talked to.
He’s been on the Iroquois County Board since 2020, and Lynch says; sure, he understands any skepticism about wanting to go from the County Board straight to serving in Washington. But on the other hand, maybe that’s exactly what’s needed. Lynch says, he likes the conservative representation his area has in Springfield. So he took aim on Washington.
AUDIO: We need regular people in Washington because Washington quit listening to regular people. I don’t think politics should be a stair step situation. I think if you think you can win a race, and you put the time in, I think you should give yourself a chance and see what you can do.
Thomas Lynch also says that nationally, so many people consider Illinois a “blue state.” But as he looks around day after day, he takes issue with that. He says Illinois is like a lot of other states where, as he puts it, “much of the land mass isn’t getting a fair shake.”
AUDIO: And honestly there’s a lot of people in the downstate area that don’t really quite understand how red Illinois is. You know, everybody remembers seeing the 2016 Election results county by county, and that was an eye-opening experience for a lot of people. It’s not so much “south of 80” as it used to be. I think it’s a lot redder than it was two years ago, and I think it’s a lot redder than it was four years ago.
Lynch says, he’ll keep on doing what he did during the primary. Working his job, coming home, showering, changing, and getting out there on the campaign trail.