Grundy Reporter

State Rep. Jed Davis (R-Yorkville) announced he will not be running for Congress in the 14th District, instead opting to seek a third term representing the 75th District in the Illinois House.

Davis told the Grundy Reporter that while he had seriously considered a congressional run and even formed an exploratory committee, his conviction to continue serving at the state level ultimately won out.

“We formed a committee surely out of necessity because of some of the dollars we have coming in, and that became the exploratory committee to see if now was the right time,” Davis said. “We had a lot of good traction, a lot of good meetings, a lot of momentum.” 

Reflecting on his decision to forgo a congressional run, Davis said it was personal conviction that ultimately guided him.

“More than anything, I just had an unrest in my spirit that—and I'm not—I'm just not done in Illinois,” Davis said. “I love the 75th District. It is an incredible district filled with incredible people and families and businesses, and I just feel like there's still work to do here in Illinois.”

He recounted a recent trip to Washington, D.C., where he spoke with several Republican members of Congress. Ironically, that visit made his decision clearer, but not in the way he expected.

“I actually thought that trip would solidify in my heart a run for the 14th,” he said. “All those conversations kind of sparked the opposite. It kind of sparks again just that unrest of there's important work to do on the state level.” 

Despite recognizing the significance of Congress, Davis emphasized the unique importance of serving at the state level.

“D.C. is critically important, and having another Republican vote out there would be hugely helpful to the current administration,” he said. “But the work at this state level is, in my opinion, just as vital, if not more, because the closer you get to home, the more direct impact some of the decisions we have roll out on the family.”

Davis acknowledged that the 14th Congressional District—currently held by Democrat Lauren Underwood—is winnable. 

“I wouldn't have gone through that whole routine if I didn't think it was winnable,” he said. “She’s won by ten or eleven points the last couple of times, and the district is plus 13 to plus 16 depending on who you talk to, Democrat, but Trump only lost it by about 4.7 percent. With the right message and campaign strategies—which I feel we would have brought—you could flip this seat. It wouldn't be easy, but it's definitely doable.”

In the 2024 election, observers noted that the 14th Congressional District had the potential to flip to the GOP.

That task appears likely to fall again to James Marter, Oswego Village Trustee and Kendall County GOP Chairman, who lost to Underwood in 2024, garnering 44.9% of the vote to her 55.1%.

For Davis, he’ll remain focused on statewide efforts, of which there are many. He believes his experience and growing comfort in Springfield make him more effective in his current role. 

“I’m feeling more comfortable in my skin,” Davis said. “This is my second term, and hopefully the third is coming up. I understand how Springfield operates and how broken it can be.”

Davis said he feels he can be bolder in his approach while remaining willing to work across the aisle, a willingness he says he has demonstrated repeatedly.

“We need a wake-up call,” he said. “We need a rattling here in Illinois to hopefully do things differently than we have.” 

Davis pointed to what he sees as an exclusionary budget process in Illinois. 

"It’s a broken system when you have 118 representatives, but I can count on one hand how many truly influence the state budget and how it’s designed to literally exclude the voices of millions of Illinois voters,” he said. “We need to upset that apple cart because this is broken at the moment.”

Reflecting on his time before public office, Davis noted how Illinois' reputation is viewed nationally. 

“I used to do national technical sales for four companies,” he said “I traveled a lot, and it was almost like a scarlet letter to tell people I'm from Illinois. They would say, ‘Oh.’ And I’d have to clarify—not Cook County, not Chicago…we're more Yorkville, Newark, Grundy County, Kendall. You had to throw that disclaimer out because we’ve got such a bad reputation across the nation for dysfunction.”

Davis took aim at leadership culture in both parties, calling it a “train wreck” driven more by power retention than public service. 

“You've got leadership often concerned with supporting candidates who will ultimately help them secure votes to reelect themselves as either majority or minority leader,” he said. “So now, it’s a system not designed to help the people, but to shore up your little fiefdom or what you view as that, which, again, I think is abhorrent—but that’s kind of the system we've created.”

He also acknowledged frustration with his own party. 

“I got really frustrated with the Republican Party,” Davis said. “I almost think we prefer being in the minority because then you don’t actually have to lead.”

To challenge that mindset, Davis introduced his own budget initiative this session. 

“I closed my door in Springfield and worked for quite a while, putting my own budget initiative together, which holds spending back about $9 billion and would send $1,500 checks or direct deposits back to working families immediately because it’s not the state’s money—it’s their money,” he said.

He also didn’t hold back in condemning what he called “legalized bribes” through selective state funding. 

“If you’re a sitting Democrat senator, you have $3 million to disperse however you wish within your district,” he said. “If you’re a representative, you have $1.5 million. If you are a Republican, whether senator or representative, you get nothing—zero dollars. The majority party is equipping their members with what I would call a legalized bribe, while penalizing Republicans and excluding them from participation. Altogether, it amounts to about $240 million.”

He criticized the disregard for fairness and accountability in the allocation of funds.

“The majority party has been so blatant about this lately that they have no fear of repercussions when it comes time for reelection,” he said. 

He likened Republicans in Springfield to characters trapped in The Truman Show. 

“At least Truman wanted to break out,” he said. “We have no desire to break out. We are walking aimlessly, not realizing that everything around us is scripted, and we're stuck in the middle when we should be fighting to break free and offer solutions—a different perspective for Illinois voters that is desperately needed, which is why I did my own budget proposal this session.”

In the final analysis, Davis’ decision not to run for Congress isn’t a retreat — it's a recommitment.

“If they'll have me, I would love to remain the representative of the 75th,” Davis said. 

Davis has represented Illinois House District 75, which includes Plano, Yorkville, Morris and Minooka, since January 2023 and was re-elected in 2024 after defeating Democrat Heidi Henry for the second time; he unseated incumbent David Welter in the 2022 Republican primary and is serving a term through January 2027.

A fifth-generation Kendall County resident and Valparaiso University graduate, Davis is a civil engineer, longtime private school board president and member of the Illinois Freedom Caucus, which advocates for local control and limiting state overreach.