Incumbent U.S. Representative Nikki Budzinski faces Dylan Blaha in the Democratic primary for Illinois’ 13th Congressional District. Voting for the primary election is ongoing and closes on March 17.
The 13th Congressional District stretches across Illinois, including Urbana, Champaign, Springfield and East St. Louis.
Blaha is a decorated U.S. Army veteran. In September, Blaha posted a viral Instagram video reminding military members they must disobey illegal orders. His campaign focuses on fighting a “class war” against millionaires and billionaires and ensuring that Americans can afford their life without falling into debt.
Budzinski started her work in the labor movement where she helped negotiate to raise Illinois’ minimum wage to $15 an hour. In 2023, she became a U.S. Representative, where she has served on the House Committee on Agriculture and the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. Budzinski takes a bipartisan approach to politics, but she maintains that working families are her priority, and she will fight for them when parties do not align.
The Daily Illini spoke with both candidates to discuss their campaign priorities.
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On foreign affairs
According to Budzinski, President Donald Trump’s recent military actions toward Iran are contradictory to his campaign platform. While the War Powers Resolution did not pass, Budzinski voted in support of it, directing Trump to “remove United States Armed Forces from unauthorized hostilities in the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
“We want peace in the Middle East,” Budzinski said. “That requires diplomacy, that requires working with our international allies, and all this administration has done is alienate and get us into more foreign conflict than what I believe the people at home want.”
Instead, Budzinski believes the administration should be focused on U.S. citizens.
Blaha condemned the war, labeled it as illegal and attended an anti-war protest organized by the central Illinois branch of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, where he shared his thoughts about America’s military action in Iran.
“I oppose the illegal war with Iran,” Blaha said. “It is not okay to attack a sovereign nation.”
Blaha also condemned Israel’s actions in Gaza, as well as all war in general.
“We need to cut the war spending and invest that in our communities, building hospitals and schools here at home rather than destroying them abroad,” Blaha said.
Budzinski pushed for support for Israel in 2023. More recently, she said that she respects Israel’s right to defend itself but believes the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is unacceptable. In May 2025, Budzinski signed onto congressional letters requesting Trump to call on Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu to restore humanitarian aid.
Blaha talks running first-time campaign, money in politics
Blaha talked about his experience running a campaign as a challenger to an established politician.
“We’ve been knocking on doors, phone banking, texting, banking — everything we can to get an edge,” Blaha said. “We haven’t raised as much money as Representative Budzinski and we never will, because I don’t take money from AIPAC or corporations.”
According to Track AIPAC, a group that counts campaign contributions candidates receive from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, Budzinski has received contributions of over $800,000 from AIPAC and AIPAC-affiliated groups.
Track AIPAC has endorsed Blaha for his refusal of AIPAC and Israel lobby funds.
Blaha promised to keep dark money out of politics and to only accept donations from grassroots organizations. Blaha has raised less than a twentieth of the money Budzinski has for his election campaign.
Blaha talked about his logistics of the campaign and future plans he has in politics.
“We’re just doing everything we can to fight back,” Blaha said. “But I will run again if I don’t win the first time … We’ve had probably about 300 volunteers sign up and our staff is 100% volunteer.”
Blaha added that he has a field director that he pays a “little bit” but hasn’t raised enough money to be able to “pay anyone a living wage.”
On current presidential administration
Blaha plans to fight for all his constituents if elected; he claims that Trump and the current administration “share a fascist vision.”
“I will fight for the rights of every American, regardless of who you are, where you are from or what you believe in,” Blaha wrote on his campaign website. “I will fight against the greed and recklessness of the ruling class.”
Budzinski also plans to step up against the administration.
“We need a fighter in Washington,” Budzinski said. “I’m that fighter that has been working hard to try to stand up to this administration and hold them accountable.”
Budzinski pointed to her work in securing funding for local park districts as a way she has worked to support the community while facing a government split along partisan lines.
Still, she said she believes bipartisan work can be accomplished, highlighting her work on legislation supporting the U.S. Veterans Affairs training for military sexual trauma claims that passed unanimously in the House of Representatives.
On affordability
Blaha has adopted left-wing economic populism, a strain of policies which has seen success with New York City’s Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Blaha has previously told The DI that he is inspired by Mamdani. Blaha’s issues page contains pages titled “Anti-oligarchy,” “Economic Rights” and “Healthcare,” among others, where he outlines the positions he holds.
“I stand for making America more affordable with an accountable government,” Blaha said. “That means things like Medicare for All and the Green New Deal. That means policies like building affordable housing, things that, unfortunately, our representative doesn’t say because of who she takes money from.”
As a member of the New Democrat Coalition, Budzinski has helped lead an affordability agenda with aims of lowering five key costs: health care, housing, energy, family care and household essentials.
Budzinski said she wants to extend the Affordable Care Act premium tax credits and roll back cuts to Medicaid to ensure her constituents can afford healthcare. She also said she hopes to bring pharmaceutical costs down, reduce utility bills and create child tax credits.
“These are going to help make a difference in people’s lives and lower costs,” Budzinski said.
On immigration
At a recent protest against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Illini Democrats condemned Budzinski’s approval of the Laken Riley Act, a law requiring the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to detain illegal immigrants charged with or arrested for burglary, theft, larceny or shoplifting.
Budzinski, however, pointed out that she voted for the bill on Jan. 22, 2025.
“It was a different time in our country,” Budzinski said. “It was before ICE was coming into our communities and ripping apart our neighborhoods … The intention of Laken Riley was to focus on criminals, which is very clearly not what this administration is doing.”
In Budzinski’s opinion, the problems with ICE started with poor leadership, so she said she was happy to see former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem lose her job.
Budzinski also voted multiple times against funding DHS until there is a “real structural overhaul,” including the most recent vote March 5, where a majority of representatives approved DHS funding.
“We’re working very closely with our immigration rights organizations,” Budzinski said. “We’ve tried to be a resource to these communities and families that are affected.”
Blaha told The DI in June that he supports the abolishment of ICE and wants to create pathways toward citizenship for undocumented immigrants.
“I’m part of the Abolish ICE movement,” Blaha said. “I think that the Department of Homeland Security and ICE as a whole is an outgrowth of the War on Terror … It’s an archaic system that needs to be completely reformed.”
On college students
Budzinski said that because of the Federal Pell Grant’s importance, she thinks Congress should double the funding for the program.
“Pell Grants are something that are critically important, especially for young people that might be first-time college students in their families,” Budzinski said.
Budzinski also plans to continue to support the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, she said. By doing this, she hopes to encourage more young people into public service jobs like teaching and nursing, among others.
“We need more good people in public service,” Budzinski said. “By providing room for forgiveness programs for those jobs, we can help encourage people to look into those professions.”
Blaha agrees on the federal government’s role in supporting education.
“The federal government must incentivize states and communities to pay their teachers higher wages,” Blaha wrote on his website.
According to Blaha, Congress should work to pass the College for All Act and establish tuition-free trade schools and public colleges. Blaha also believes that Congress should forgive outstanding student loans.
Where to vote
Early voting has already begun. On March 17, people can vote at any location in this list from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.. The Illini Union is the only on-campus voting location set to be open Tuesday.
More information on Champaign County’s primary election ballot can be found here.
