Republican State Sen. Darin LaHood made it official: He says he’s already filed paperwork to open a federal campaign account to replace resigning U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock.
Other Republican politicians are still considering their options, and two early possibilities have declared their intentions not to seek the 18th District Congressional seat.
LaHood, 46, is a lawyer from Dunlap. His father, Ray LaHood, held the seat before Schock and also served as Secretary of Transportation in the Obama administration.
But the younger LaHood says he'll stand on his own record.
"Like any political family, you have disagreements with people in your family in politics, like most people do,” he said, “and I have some with my own family. But I’m going to rely on my ability, the job that I’ve done, what constituents have sent me back to Springfield to do, on my own name and my own merit, and on the substance of my work."
LaHood has completed one full term in the Illinois Senate and was re-elected to his seat without opposition last November.
LaHood told the Associated Press he considers himself more conservative than his father, a Republican who served under Democratic President Barack Obama and organized bipartisan retreats to foster cooperation.
He intends to campaign on his history as a prosecutor at the state and federal level, and with a track record of advocating for ethics reform in Springfield.
The only other announced candidate is former Chillicothe attorney Mark Zalcman of Normal. He announced last week that he would challenge Schock in next year’s primary; he said Tuesday that he would seek the seat in the special election instead.
Zalcman filed to run in the 2014 Republican primary for the state House seat long held by Rep. David Leitch, R-Peoria. He was removed from the ballot before the election when a challenge determined he didn’t have enough valid signatures on his candidate petitions.
State Rep. Mike Unes, R-East Peoria, said Wednesday that he wants to take time to fully consider his candidacy with his family.
Former state Rep. Jil Tracy, R-Quincy, also is considered a potential candidate. She was the running mate for then-Sen. Kirk Dillard, who lost his bid for the GOP gubernatorial nomination to Bruce Rauner last year.
Two other potential contenders -- state Sens. Jason Barickman and Bill Brady, both R-Bloomington – have announced that they will not seek the post.
One Democrat reportedly under consideration is state Sen. John Sullivan, of Rushville. A conservative Democrat from the western part of the district, Sullivan has been in the Illinois Senate since 2003. He has won in an area where voters have supported Republicans for other posts.
He is an Assistant Majority Leader and chairs the Senate Agricultural Committee.
The election will be held within 115 days of Gov. Bruce Rauner setting a date for it, which he must do by April 5. The district runs from Quincy on the Mississippi River all the way beyond Bloomington to Cropsey in the northeast.