Republican congressional candidate Esther Joy King will be in the Peoria area on Monday as part of a four-day launch tour for her second run for the 17th Congressional District seat.
King plans to visit 14 counties across the district before finishing the tour Thursday in East Moline with an address to supporters.
“Right now, Washington policies are hurting regular people here in Peoria and across the Illinois 17th (District),” said King. “We still have a great need for representation that speaks about our conservative values and what we stand for and what we believe.”
King was a political newcomer last November when she lost a close race with U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Moline, who announced last month she will not run for a sixth term. King said getting 48% of the vote in her race against Bustos gives her optimism for a second try.
“We’re certainly building on the excitement in momentum from 2020,” she said. “My life goal is to be the voice that stands for conservative values: that free market, that freedom itself, us investing in our communities, taking responsibility and not trying to put it off on the federal government.”
King said she sees inflation is among several crises facing the country, citing rising food and gas prices and job market issues among her major concerns.
“A big part of the job is listening (and) talking with people, and so when I’ve talked with business owners — you name the industry, whether it's the restaurant industry, health care, transportation — business owners are having a hard time finding workers and getting people that want to come back to work.”
With Illinois set to lose one representative before the 2022 election, King said she's not concerning herself with the process of redrawing the district's boundaries.
“My focus is meeting with people, talking with voters, and giving them a reason to be seen, to know that they matter,” said King. “When redistricting sorts itself out, I would be honored to represent the people that I get to talk with and know that their voice is going to be heard in Washington.”
King said that while she believes people who participated in the Jan. 6 attacks on the U.S. Capitol need to be held accountable, she did not support creation of a Congressional commission.
“Every Republican I know has condemned Jan. 6th events. However, when I am out and about talking with people, that's not what people are really focused on,” she said. “There's so many things that are relevant to each and every one of them lives that are important for us to focus on.”
