Longtime District 7 Rep. Danny Davis Defeats Craig Cameron

OAK PARK, IL — Rep. Danny K. Davis (D) has represented the 7th District in Illinois for more than 20 years and will keep his seat even longer after he defeated Republican Craig Cameron in Tuesday's election. AP named Davis the projected winner by a large margin, with 87.6 percentage points to Cameron's 12.4.

Cameron's experience as a project manager informs much of his mission heading into Tuesday's race. Craig Cameron, who emerged victorious against Jeffrey Leef in the March primaries, says one of his top priorities is "bringing jobs back to Chicago." He links job creation to public safety, saying, "When men and women are working they don't have time to loiter and engage in illegitimate opportunities," on his website. Cameron also supports community bonds to help small business owners fund their operations.

Big Wins For Democrats: Illinois 2018 Election Results

Since he was elected in 1996, Davis has supported such issues as universal health care and Medicare and voted in favor of the Affordable Care Act in 2010. He also supports revitalizing the economy through job creation and voted in favor of the HIRE act to "unleash tens of billions of dollars to rebuild our infrastructure, and strengthen small businesses with tax credits and accelerated write-offs so they can expand and hire."

Election Results

Patch will post live updates for the Illinois District 7 race. Refresh this article to see the results in real time.

Key Issues

See where Rep. Danny K. Davis and his challenger, Craig Cameron, stand on the issues facing voters in this election.

Gun Laws

Gun violence and gun laws have been a persistent concern for voters in the 7th District. Craig Cameron says he is in favor of gun rights for "every American" on his campaign website. He adds that he believes "It is our constitutional right to protect ourselves, our homes, and our families." Cameron supports gun laws that restrict access for "individuals who abuse this privilege."

Rep. Danny K. Davis is in favor of comprehensive reform to the current gun laws. In February, Davis joined New Jersey Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. (D-NJ09) to introduce the Gun Violence Prevention and Safe Communities Act, which aimed to "to prevent gun violence and increase community safety by increasing the federal taxes on guns and ammunition, including closing current loopholes that allow some of the most popular and deadly firearms to avoid taxation and regulation."

Davis has also called for legislation to restrict 3-D printed guns.

Immigration

In 2017, Davis released a statement on immigration. He said, "I will oppose anti-immigrant rhetoric, anti-immigrant hysteria on every front and at every opportunity, and will counter such rhetoric, hysteria and 'alternate facts' with documented fact and lessons of our history." Davis also vowed to vote against funding for ICE "as long as it engages in policies and actions which I view to be in violation of the constitution."

He has voted in favor of a path to citizenship and has opposed Trump's previous executive orders limiting immigration and travel.

In an interview with Sun-Times, Cameron said he supports "a better immigration system with checks and balances." He added that he does "support immigration" and called Trump's proposed border wall "a complete waste of money."

Health Care

On his campaign site, Cameron says he believes the current health care system is "broken" and promises to "work across the aisle to recommend alternatives that will benefit the public and create efficiencies in the system, to drive down the cost of health care and ensure that Americans are in control of their own health care" if elected. He supports lower premiums with increased coverage.

In 2017, Davis voted against the American Health Care Act. In a statement, he expressed his ongoing support of the existing Affordable Care Act and said the AHCA would "spell disaster for Illinois." He added, "Healthcare professionals and activists have worked hard over the past fifty years to improve healthcare access and delivery and it would be a shame to have us go backwards."

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