Mascoutah broker concedes Illinois 12th district nomination weeks after primary
Raymond Lenzi claimed victory in the Democratic nomination for the 12th Congressional District after his opponent conceded Wednesday.
Lenzi, a retired professor from Makanda, declared victory over Joel Funk, a farmer and insurance broker from Mascoutah, after the March 17 primary election. But with just 50.3% of the vote compared to Funk’s 49.6%, Funk held off on conceding until more provisional ballots were counted.
Lenzi thanked Funk for his concession Wednesday.
“I congratulate him on a hard-fought race and a great campaign,” Lenzi said. “The closeness of the results show we were very close and competitive. We’re happy we can move on to working with Joel and uniting the party.”
Lenzi will go on to face incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Bost in November.
Funk said he decided to concede after he “did the math.” With just a handful of provisional ballots left to be counted, Funk said he didn’t believe he could win.
“If there’s a way to lose an election, I guess this is the way to do it,” Funk said. “I’m within the margin of going through the recount process, but with that number and the pain associated with going through it, I don’t have the time for it and I don’t want to put anyone else through it.”
Lenzi said in his BND candidate profile that his campaign will focus on fighting for expanded and affordable health care, increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour, and moving “aggressively” on climate crisis and renewable energy.
