An hour after Illinois Representative Cheri Bustos announced that she would not be running for re-election in the 2022 General Election, previous opponent Esther Joy King announced her campaign for the seat.
In a Facebook post made on Friday, April 30, King published a Facebook post announcing her campaign for the Representative of Illinois District 17.
"I want to thank Cheri Bustos for her service and I wish her the best going forward. Cheri has always claimed she knew this district well — so she clearly saw what we’re seeing every day: IL-17 was going to make a change in 2022 and Cheri was destined to lose. The people of the IL-17 accomplished this. I’m proud to be part of a movement to bring better representation to the best people I know, " King says. "And while we were planning to make this official in a couple weeks, I’m announcing today that yes, I am running for Congress in 2022 because I know that the residents of this district deserve so much better than what the liberal elites have been serving them up in Washington," King said. "We need a battle-ready leader. We need a fighter who won’t back down; someone who knows that the residents of the 17th District matter more than Washington, D.C., special interests."
Previously, in the 2020 General Election, King lost her challenge against Bustos with 48% of the vote compared to Bustos's 52%.