Jacksonville Journal Courier
Scott Cousins
April 7, 2025

Jennifer Todd expects a “long road” and “uphill” struggle in her quest to unseat incumbent Republican Mary Miller for her U.S. House seat in 2026. 

Todd, 55, is a former nurse who lives in Edwardsville, just outside the 15th Congressional District she hopes to represent. Because of redistricting, since 2022, Miller also has lived outside of the district.

“It’s really close, but in the state of Illinois, you don’t have to live in the district you run for,” Todd said.

Todd became interested in running because Miller was “unopposed” in the 2024 election, she said.

While Miller was officially unopposed on the 2024 ballot, William Bonnett, 70, of Ashland mounted a write-in campaign as an independent. He received approximately 1,400 votes to Miller’s 309,000.

“That can’t happen again,” said Todd, who is seeking the Democratic nomination.

“There are a lot of things that I don’t agree with her on, especially transgender individuals and abortion rights,” Todd added in a telephone interview. “That’s taking us all backwards, it’s not taking us forward. We need more forward thinking to be able to meet the needs.”

Todd, who described herself as “mostly liberal,” also was critical of Miller’s lack of contact with constituents, including failure to hold or appear at town hall meetings, and not responding to constituents.

Miller’s campaign did not respond to a request for interviews or comments.

Todd also noted that the 15th District receives no community project funding.

Miller, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, pledged previously to oppose community project funding.

“She does not believe in them,” Todd said of Miller. “This is the only district in Illinois that did not receive any money for projects.”

In comparison, U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski, D-13th District, brought $136.1 million in federal community project funds to her district.

Todd has an associate’s degree in nursing from Kaskaskia College, a bachelor’s degree in health care management from SIU-Carbondale, and a bachelor’s degree in nursing from SIU-Edwardsville.

She has one college-age daughter.

Todd said she can relate to many of the voters in the 15th District.

“I’ve been where a lot of them have been at,” she said. “I’ve been on unemployment before, I’ve been on SNAP benefits before. I know what it’s like to be on Medicaid and trying to get my daughter into a doctor that takes Medicaid.”

Todd is fundraising and meeting with various groups.

The first official function for the 2026 elections will be Aug. 5, when candidates can start circulating nominating petitions.

“I’ve got a lot of volunteers to do that already,” she said. “As of right now, we only need 510 verified signatures, but of course, we’re going to get a lot more than that.”

Congresswoman Mary Miller, R-15th District, and her husband, state Rep. Chris Miller, leave a meeting of the House Republican Conference at the Capitol Hill Club.

The 15th Congressional District extends from the Mississippi River to the Indiana border and includes all or part of 35 Illinois counties, including much of Madison County.

Miller is known as a far-right conservative and supporter of Donald Trump and has been at the center of several controversies.

In 2020, Miller received 57.4% of the vote in a four-way race to replace retiring U.S. Rep. John Shimkus, R-Collinsville. No other candidate received more than 22% of the vote. She then easily defeated Democratic challenger Erika Weaver, winning with 73.4% of the vote.

In 2022, in a drastically redrawn district, Miller beat fellow incumbent Rodney Davis, 57.4% to 42.6% in the primary. Davis, a more moderate Republican, drew the ire of Donald Trump, who supported Miller. She then defeated Democratic challenger Paul Lange, 71.1% to 28.9%.