Kendall County Times

A Republican Hosue candidate who lost to U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Illinois) in the 2018 congressional election plans to run against the GOP lawmaker, who has faced backlash for voting to impeach former President Donald Trump.

“I ran against Kinzinger in 2018, and I knew then he was made of nothing,” 16th Congressional District candidate Jeff Marter told the Kendall County Times shortly after announcing he plans to rechallenge Kinzinger in 2022. “Nothing has changed; he’s the same person now that he was then. I’m taking him on because of his failure to support conservative, Republican principles.”

Serving in his sixth-term, Kinzinger has come under heavy fire over his criticism of Trump. Not long after Kinzinger voted to impeach Trump, the Republican committees in La Salle, Iroquois and Will counties all voted to censure the veteran lawmaker.

Kinzinger has launched his Country First campaign, which he is designed to move GOP voters away from Trump-style politics.

“He just hasn’t done the job,” Marter said. “He votes for every omnibus bill and for funding for Planned Parenthood. He doesn’t care about the budget or conservative principles, and we’ve got to stop him.”

Marter said he’s hoping Republican voters knowing how Kinzinger views the former president, whom he expressed support for in 2018, will also help make a difference.

“Kinzinger is a liar, and Republican voters have been stabbed in the back by him,” he said. “Beyond that, he’s now attacking our Second Amendment rights and going against the NRA. He’s just completely coming out of his shell. Had he done what he said he would do I wouldn’t have to run against him.”

In contrast, the Kendall County Republican Party chairman said voters know where he stands on the issues that matter most to them.

“I will be working for lower taxes, smaller government and putting America first,” he said. “Adam Kinzinger is siding with the enemy, and I’m all in for taking him down.”