PEORIA, Ill. – The projected Republican nominee in Illinois’ 17th Congressional District says he was pretty confident of victory Tuesday night.
Dillan Vancil of Gladstone defeated Julie Bickelhaupt in the primary, with an estimated 58% of the vote. He will take on incumbent Democrat Eric Sorensen in November’s general election.
Vancil’s website describes him as a small business owner and the founder of Dame Fine Coffee. He has also served as Vice President of the West Central Schools board in west-central Illinois.
Vancil credits Tuesday’s victory to a strong ground game across the 17th District.
“I put over 100,000 miles on the campaign trail,” Vancil said. “We’ve been to all the counties, all 14 counties several times, met a ton of good people along the way. They’re willing to step up and help out.”
Vancil says a lot of time was spent in the four largest counties in the district; Winnebago, Rock Island, Peoria, and McLean.
Vancil believes the message that resonated the most with voters was affordability and safety. He says the strategy will remain the same as the campaign moves towards the general election.
One issue Vancil says he would focus on immediately is raising the standard deduction for federal taxes from $17,000 to $25,000. He says another focus would be lowering health care and insurance costs by encouraging more business competition.
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