Paul Blumenshine/Photo courtesy of WJBC news

By Howard Packowitz

BLOOMINGTON – For the second straight election, State Rep. Dan Brady (R-Bloomington) will again have to fend off a primary challenge, assuming he decides to run again in the 105th District.

Local realtor David Paul Blumenshine took to social media over the weekend to announce that he wants to unseat the nine-term lawmaker in the GOP primary next March.

“Rep. Brady left the last legislative session at the end of May, and he voted yes to increasing our gas tax by double. He also voted to increase 20 other taxes,” Blumenshine said.

“It is time for people who have made Springfield a career to leave,” Blumenshine also said.

According to Brady, the budget includes $1.2 billion to catch up with the backlog of unpaid bills, and there’s a lock box protecting gas tax dollars to pay only for repairing crumbling infrastructure.

Brady said House Republicans, who have super-minority status in Springfield, succeeded in beating back many Democratic-backed taxes, including for bottled water, beer, wine, liquor, and rental cars.

“All in all, the taxes we were able to beat back as House Republicans, I think is very, very strong,” said Brady.

“It was an overall package that there’s some good and there’s some bad, but in compromise government, you never get your way,” Brady added.

Brady won almost 75 percent of the vote in his 2018 primary race against Blumenshine, then defeated Democrat Ben Webb in the general election.

Brady, who is also a local funeral home director, is the Deputy Republican Leader in the Illinois House.

He expects to make a reelection announcement later this summer or early fall.

The 105th District covers all of Normal, Bloomington’s east side, and eastern McLean County, and part of Livingston County, including Fairbury.