Matt Hausman, Republican candidate for 13th Congressional District in Illinois
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Name: Matt Hausman
Political party: Republican
Age as of June 28, 2022: 42
Campaign website or social media page: hausmanforcongress.com
Office seeking: Republican nominee for U.S. representative, 13th Congressional District of Illinois
Are you an incumbent? No
Have you run for elected office before? (Please list previous offices sought) No
Occupation: Nonprofit executive (former aerospace engineer and high school teacher)
Education: Bachelor of science in aerospace engineering from University of Illinois, master of science in aerospace engineering from University of Colorado, master of science in secondary education from Loyola Marymount University and certificate in nonprofit management from University of California, Los Angeles Extension
Please list highlights of your civic involvement: I have always looked to give back to the community, which drove my career decisions to leave the aerospace industry and teach at a low-income charter school for four years; and later to leave SpaceX and do nonprofit work around the world and then back in central Illinois. The past few years in Champaign, besides my work running Feeding Our Kids and providing food to more than 1,000 hungry children across Champaign County, I have served as a community volunteer, including as a member of Champaign West Rotary. I currently serve as vice president of the Champaign County Forest Preserve District Friends Foundation. Additionally, I was appointed to serve on the Champaign County Mental Health Board. In this role, I have become more connected with various programs and agencies serving our community, including youth intervention programs and mental health support services to assist law enforcement. I have worked to bring a renewed focus on outcomes to ensure that taxpayer-funded programs are working effectively or can be adjusted to provide the best services to the people of Champaign County.
Who are your top three campaign contributors? I am the largest contributor. Outside of that, I have multiple family and friends who have donated the maximum amount. I have not received any PAC funding.
Why are you running? I’m running for Congress because we’ve lost our way in politics, and I’ve had enough. The divisiveness, the ambition, the negativity —politicians using fear and outrage to win elections. None of this solves problems. None of this helps everyday people. It’s time we changed the narrative. It’s time our leaders stopped playing politics and instead focused on working together to find solutions that make people’s lives better so they can build their own American Dream.
What is the top issue in your race, and how would you address it? There are two issues: The economy and crime, which have significant overlap because economic opportunity helps to reduce crime, and high crime rates have a significant impact on the local economy, which we are seeing currently. On the economic side, we need to address inflation immediately with all tools available. I support proposed legislation that requires inflation analysis for spending bills, to avoid continued government spending pouring money into the economy. We also need to make our supply chain more robust by reducing burdensome regulations and requiring that our government agencies are identifying potential problem areas, such as the infant formula shortage that should have been anticipated months ago when the Abbot plant was first shut down. I am also willing to keep an open mind about proposals from the other side of the aisle, since we cannot allow partisanship to stand in the way of relief for American families. Longer term, we need to move away from heavy-handed regulation and, instead, incentivize innovation and collaboration.
Why should people vote for you? I am part of the local community. I grew up here in central Illinois on a centennial family farm, and I returned here to raise a family on the same farm and in the same house where I, my father and my grandfather were all raised. It hasn’t been my lifelong ambition to be a politician. I haven’t spent my life in government — I’ve spent it creating opportunities for the next generation. I have a broad perspective that will be different than most in Congress. Throughout my career as an aerospace engineer, teacher and nonprofit executive, I have consistently worked with people that have different perspectives, opinions and incentives and brought them together to achieve common goals. I have productive relationships with people across the political spectrum and will utilize that approach and broad perspective in Congress to best serve all the people of the 13th District. If voters are tired of the noise and bickering and politics as usual and instead want to see a positive message to bring people together, I am the candidate for them.
This story was originally published May 31, 2022 at 9:29 AM with the headline "Matt Hausman, Republican candidate for 13th Congressional District in Illinois."