Terry Martin, Republican candidate for 13th Congressional District in Illinois
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Name: Terry Martin
Political party: Republican
Age as of June 28, 2022: Age should not be an issue, as long as we’re all old enough to hold office.
Campaign website or social media page: TerryMartinForCongress.com
Office seeking: Republican nominee for U.S. representative, 13th Congressional District in Illinois
Are you an incumbent? No
Have you run for elected office before? (Please list previous offices sought) No
Occupation: Journalist (executive director of the Illinois Channel)
Education: Bachelor of arts from University of Missouri and master of arts from American University in Washington, D.C.
Please list highlights of your civic involvement: I worked with former Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar, the late U.S. Sen. Paul Simon, University of Illinois Springfield and the Institute of Government & Public Affairs at University of Illinois to launch the nonprofit Illinois Channel in 2002. It’s often referred to as “the CSPAN of Illinois.” Over the past 20 years, we have provided in-depth coverage of public policy issues, the legislature and governors and one-on-one interviews with chief justices of the Supreme Court, as well as leaders in business, labor and education. As a result, I’ve gained firsthand knowledge of issues across the state.
Who are your top three campaign contributors? Family and friends
Why are you running? Having covered Congress in Washington, and after 25 years of covering Illinois politics and public policy issues, and having run a St. Louis manufacturing business for a decade in my 20s, I’m the most qualified candidate. And, having watched the far-left take over the Democratic Party to push policies that I know are damaging to America and especially middle-class families, I felt compelled to try to change the direction the Biden Administration is taking America. Their economic policies are a disaster, as we see in the explosive inflation. Their open-border policies are threatening national security and leading to a large influx of illegal, deadly drugs. I simply could no longer sit and watch my country being destroyed without making an effort to change the direction of the country.
What is the top issue in your race, and how would you address it? We are the No. 1 economy in the world, and we need to return America to being energy independent. We need energy that is reliable and affordable. To do that, we need policies which encourage oil drilling, oil refining and the building of more pipelines to move oil and natural gas. By increasing oil production, we bring down the cost of oil, diesel, gasoline and natural gas. Oil is the linchpin to the American economy. Its price increase spreads across every part of our economy — and not just at the pump — but the added cost of delivery drives up the cost of everything. The explosive rise in farmers’ fertilizer costs hampers food production. The spike in natural gas prices drives up our electrical costs — damaging further every middle-class family as they try to afford air conditioning, not to mention heating their homes this winter! Inflation will not come down as long as the Biden Administration has a war on fossil fuels. I will vote not only for American oil production, but to form a closer relationship with Canada and Mexico so that our three countries will continue to have an abundance of energy, which is reliable and affordable for working families — and our businesses.
Why should people vote for you? After 30 years of journalism, covering every sort of issue, from working in Washington to interviewing governors, senators and Supreme Court chief justices, having run my own businesses and being economically literate, I am the most qualified candidate running. As a Republican, I’ve also worked well with Democrats, including Paul Simon, Adlai Stevenson and many others in the legislature, who trust my professionalism and value my experience. And, I’ve proven I get things done. Despite getting no funding from the state, I’ve built the Illinois Channel out across the state and kept it going for 20 years.
This story was originally published May 27, 2022 at 3:23 PM with the headline "Terry Martin, Republican candidate for 13th Congressional District in Illinois."