US Rep. Danny Davis extends his quarter-century in Congress

U.S. Rep. Danny Davis is on his way back to Washington D.C.

The longtime West Side Democrat ran unopposed in Tuesday’s election, meaning he will get to continue a congressional career representing the heavily Democratic 7th District that began in 1997.

Davis’ win in the general election followed a more difficult road to victory in the primary. Davis faced his stiffest challenge in years in the Democratic primary in late June when he defeated progressive Kina Collins 51.9% to 45.7%.

Davis got endorsed in the primary by President Joe Biden and other high-profile Democrats to fend off Collins, who said it was “time for a change” in the district that stretches from the west suburbs of Westchester, Bellwood and Oak Park through the city’s West Side and east to Lake Michigan, encompassing Streeterville and downtown, before darting south to include parts of the South Loop, Bridgeport and Englewood.

Collins was endorsed by several progressive groups, including Justice Democrats, a leading left-wing political action committee that backed U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York in 2018.

But Davis ran a campaign that noted he sponsored a law that provided funding that supported organizations that provided services to those released from prison, as well as a message that leaned on familiarity. Across the district, campaign signs Davis’ workers planted in people’s front yards or on storefront windows on the West Side declared: “He’s someone you know.”