On March 18, the day after the primary election, Donna Miller greeted patrons at Flossmoor Station Restaurant & Brewery before holding a brief news conference to discuss her plans as the Democratic Party nominee for the Illinois 2nd Congressional District seat.
Miller prevailed over nine other candidates in the race and will face Republican Michael Noack in the November general election. Whoever wins in November will succeed current 2nd District Rep. Robin Kelly, who chose to run for U.S. Senate rather than seek re-election. Kelly came in third in the Senate race won by Lt. Gov. Julianna Stratton.
Miller said she planned to visit various parts of the district to thank voters for their support. She started at Flossmoor Station because the business had been a key location for the campaign.
Miller said she was “really grateful that all of our planning and preparation paid off” in the primary election, which she won with almost 41% of the vote. Her closest competitor, former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., received 29%.
She attributed her success to focus and familiarity.
The focus was on the issues she has the most experience with as a Cook County commissioner: supporting healthcare access and reproductive rights, veterans benefits, programs for seniors and economic development, especially advocating for the proposed South Suburban Airport project.
Her work with the National Association of Counties provided opportunities to craft legislation intended to pursue her priorities. She said she has five bills ready to go, three related to healthcare, one related to social media safety, and one on environmental justice and climate change.
“All things I’ve championed on the county level I can bring to the congressional level,” she said.
Her work for eight years as commissioner of the Cook County Board’s 6th District also paid off, she said. Although Jackson started the campaign with a name recognition advantage from his previous service in Congress, that was a mixed blessing considering it included the attention garnered by his conviction on charges related to misspending campaign funds.
Miller said her practice of holding town hall meetings with constituents and reaching 10,000 people with her newsletter helped introduce her to a significant number of 2nd District voters.
“I communicated with the district and I was visible,” she said. “It was reaffirming to me to be out at train stops and be out in the community, and people are like, ‘Hey, I know you.’ That’s what being part of the community is about.”
Flossmoor Mayor Michelle Nelson, who endorsed Miller, was at the news conference and reacted to Miller’s primary victory.
“I was absolutely elated. She’s worked very hard for this,” Nelson said. “Robin Kelly leaves some big shoes to fill and Donna is the person that can fill them.”
Miller responded to questions about campaign funding sources, especially one with ties to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a pro-Israel lobbying organization that has been criticized by the left for supporting Israel’s war on Gaza.
She said funding from AIPAC “was not a determining factor for the constituents of the 2nd District. People in the community weren’t talking about it. My opponents were talking about it all the time. People are tired of seeing all the divisiveness and seeing people fighting and not standing up for them.”
She said her donors were diverse and supported her policy priorities and experience.
