IL-01: Democratic Rep. Bobby Rush, who's been in office since 1993, flirted with quitting Congress ahead of the 2018 midterms, and his latest fundraising haul suggests he'll be dancing that dance once again.
During the first quarter of 2019, Rush took in just $3,000, all from PACs—the least of any Democratic incumbent in the House. He also managed to file his quarterly report three days late (not an uncommon occurrence for him), and those PAC contributions were even listed in the wrong section, under "Contributions from persons other than political committees."
It wouldn’t be a surprise if this was all a harbinger of retirement. Last cycle, Rush waited until the last minute to file for re-election, while two years earlier, he nearly got knocked off the ballot for failing to submit a sufficient number of valid petitions (in the end, he squeaked by with just 90 more than the 1,300 minimum).
If Rush does intend to stick around, he certainly doesn’t have to worry about a Republican opponent, since he sits in an extremely safe district in Chicago. However, up-and-comers have tried to primary him from time to time, though so far, no one's gotten especially close. That roster includes then-state Sen. Barack Obama, who lost a 2000 matchup by a 61-30 margin—the first, last, and only race Obama would ever lose.
But plenty of other longtime incumbents who'd previously thought themselves invulnerable have lately been greeted by plenty of electoral trouble while they’ve been snoozing, so the 72-year-old Rush could be making a similar mistake if he thinks he can coast to a 15th term. In fact, Rush just drew a challenge from 26-year-old gun violence prevention activist Robert Emmons. We don’t know yet whether Emmons is capable of throwing a serious scare into Rush, but the congressman shouldn’t take anything for granted.
There's also the matter of the hundreds of thousands of dollars in dues every incumbent (except vulnerable members) must pay to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee to help win—or in this case, ensure—a Democratic majority. Rush has blithely ignored his obligations for the last decade, but now that he holds an important post as chair of the House Energy Subcommittee, he might face more pressure to be a team player.