While Dems May Still Gain, Welch Says He's "Proud" to Stay at 78 Seats
House Speaker Chris Welch.
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With four seats in the House of Representatives still too close to call with ballots left to count and mail-in ballots still arriving, the Democratic Speaker of the Illinois House is “proud” of the performance of his candidates in the face of an unexpected Republican wave.
In an interview with The Illinoize Friday, House Speaker Chris Welch said keeping all 78 Democratic seats with a potential pickup or two in late-arriving ballots leaves him “proud” of how things worked out for his party.
While many pundits across the state predicted Welch and House Democrats would pick up as many as four or five seats this week, Welch said Democrats never approached the campaign that way.
“Our goal was always to defend the Democratic majority in a national environment that we knew would be very challenging, going way back to June. Every poll that we had from June forward showed that we were in a very tough environment, but we also knew another fact going into this election cycle that every single time Donald Trump has been on the ballot, Illinois Democrats have lost seats,” Welch said. “Donald Trump, we knew, pulls out people to vote. We did not lose a single seat in the Illinois House of Representatives. We didn't lose any of my record 78. I'm extremely proud of that fact. Every incumbent member of the House Democratic caucus won. And as we talk today, Patrick, three vulnerable Republican incumbents from districts that have been traditionally safe Republican areas are still in races that are too close to call.”
Welch and House Democrats vastly outspent Republicans and had more pickup opportunities, as the GOP was defending seven districts won by President Biden in 2020.
Welch defended Democratic campaign strategies to focus on abortion rights and not on the economy, which polled as the top issue for voters across political lines.
“I don't think you can ever spend too much time talking about people's freedoms,” Welch said. And as you can see when it comes to ‘the great 78,’ we were proud of our work that we did in reproductive freedom. And we talked about it in every single race. And every single Democratic incumbent won reelection and two Democratic candidates and Democratic districts that we currently hold. [Amy] Murri Briel and Marti Deuter held serve for Democrats in those districts where we talked about reproductive freedom.”
After the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget issued a report last week showing a potential $3 billion deficit in the FY26 budget, which would be passed in May and take effect in July, Welch said he’s confident Democrats will balance the budget.
“My record as speaker the last four years has proven that we've been able to balance the budget, and some of those years we had very grim forecasts just like we do now, and we still manage to produce budgets with surpluses,” Welch said. “I fully expect the General Assembly that takes office in January will approach the next budget with the same responsible approach of going line by line, outlining priorities and making smart decisions like we've done in the past. I've really gotten the House in a really good position, and we're just getting better every day. In my conversations with members the last couple of days, many of them were laser focused on the budget and we're rolling up our sleeves and ready to do the work.”
Welch said he has secured the votes to be elected Speaker for a third term in January.
Lawmakers return to the Capitol this week for the fall Veto Session, and Welch said there will be efforts, either this fall or in 2025, to pass firewalls in the state in response to President-Elect Trump’s agenda.
The work ahead of us is so much bigger than Donald Trump. And it isn't going to be done in two weeks,” Welch said. “The house that is returning for a veto session [Monday], and the House that is returning to take office in January [is] committed to defending the rights of Illinoisans, and we're committed to controlling costs. We're continuing to be committed to rebuilding our fiscal house and ensuring that everyone has a chance to get ahead. And that's not going to be done in two weeks. That's going to be continual work.”
As for Democrats struggle across the country, Welch says Democrats have to do a “better job of listening to everyday people.”
“I think we should all be listeners,” he said. “And if we do that, voters are going to reward us in the next election.”