Rodney Davis (politician)

Early life and education

Davis was born in Des Moines and is a lifelong resident of Taylorville, Illinois where he attended public school. Before attending college, he worked at a McDonald's that his parents operated. He graduated from Millikin University in 1992 with a degree in political science.

Early political career

After graduating from college, Davis worked for then-Secretary of State George Ryan. In 1996, he lost a race for the state legislature. In 1998, Davis managed the first re-election campaign for Illinois Congressman John Shimkus. Following the successful campaign, Davis accepted a position on Shimkus' congressional staff.

In 2000, Davis lost his second campaign, this time for mayor of his hometown, Taylorville. Davis served as Shimkus' Projects Director while simultaneously running for Congress.

2012

On May 19, 2012, the Republican County Chairmen for the 14 Illinois counties comprising the 13th district nominated Davis as the Republican candidate in the 13th District. This district had previously been the 15th, represented by six-term incumbent Republican Tim Johnson, who had announced in April that he would not seek re-election. Other finalists for the nomination were Jerry Clarke, chief of staff to fellow U.S. Representative Randy Hultgren and Johnson's former chief of staff; Erika Harold, a lawyer and winner of Miss America in 2003; and Kathy Wassink, a businesswoman. Davis was coaching his sons' little league baseball game when he was informed that he had been nominated.

Davis narrowly defeated David M. Gill in the general election by a margin of 1,002 votes (0.3%).

2014

On June 13, 2013, former Miss America Erika Harold announced she would run against Davis in the 2014 Republican primary. The primary took place on March 18, 2014. The Republican field included Davis, Harold, and Michael Firsching. Davis won the primary with 55% of the vote.

Davis faced Democrat Ann Callis in the general election on November 4, 2014. He was reportedly a top target for the Democrats but won the general election with 59% of the vote.

2016

Davis won re-election in 2016. He defeated Ethan Vandersand in the primary and faced Democrat Mark Wicklund and independent David Gill in the general election on November 8, 2016. Davis received 59.7% of the vote.

Committee assignments

Legislation

Davis introduced the Hire More Heroes Act of 2013 into the House on November 13, 2013. The bill would allow employers to exclude veterans receiving health insurance from the United States Department of Defense or the United States Department of Veterans' Affairs from their list of employees.

This would have had the effect of keeping their list of employees shorter, allowing some small businesses to fall underneath the 50 full-time employees line that would require them to provide their employees with healthcare under the requirements of the Affordable Care Act. Davis said that the bill "gives our small businesses another incentive to hire veterans, which helps to address the increasing number of unemployed veterans, while providing them with some relief from ObamaCare."

Political positions

Davis voted for H.J.Res.59 – Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2014, which resulted in the Government Shutdown of 2013. After the vote, Politico reported that Davis also intended to vote for a bill that would end the shutdown, stressing that an agreement needed to be made and that "Like most of those I represent, I remain opposed to Obamacare, but a government shutdown is absolutely unacceptable."

Davis voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act. On May 4, 2017, Davis voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) and pass the American Health Care Act.

He voted to re-authorize the Violence Against Women Act.

Davis is pro-life, opposes public abortion funding, and is against religious institutions being required to offer health plans that include coverage for birth control.

In June 2016, Davis cast the deciding vote on a bill to retain the ability of undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children to join the U.S. military. The program would allow a quicker pathway to citizenship for those who serve.

Davis has cast several votes in favor of legalizing medical marijuana. In 2015, he voted to lift a ban on travel to Cuba.

Davis was ranked as the 23rd most bipartisan member of the U.S. House of Representatives during the 114th United States Congress (and the second most bipartisan member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois) in the Bipartisan Index created by The Lugar Center and the McCourt School of Public Policy that ranks members of the United States Congress by their degree of bipartisanship (by measuring the frequency each member's bills attract co-sponsors from the opposite party and each member's co-sponsorship of bills by members of the opposite party).

Personal life

Davis and his wife Shannon wed in 1995, and the couple currently lives in Taylorville, Illinois. They have three children. Shannon Davis is a cancer survivor and is a nursing administrator at Memorial Medical Center in Springfield, IL.

Davis holds various positions throughout his community. He serves on the Board of Education for St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, where his family are parishioners and where he serves as volunteer athletic director. He coaches Taylorville Junior Football, is a member of the Taylorville Optimist Club, and serves on the Board of Directors for the Christian County Senior Center.

Davis plays catcher for the GOP team in the Congressional Baseball Game, held annually for charity.