WASHINGTON — Rep. Danny Davis, D-Ill., is making it official: He will seek another term, raising the question on Monday of whether Chicago City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin will continue exploring a congressional bid, since she had said she would run only if Davis retired.
Davis, 82, will make a public announcement about his 2024 bid for a 15th term in the coming weeks, Davis chief of staff Tumia Romero, who is also his top political adviser, told the Sun-Times.
The impending campaign launch and official announcement seems intended to make it clear beyond a doubt that Davis is not going to retire. On Feb. 2, 2023, Davis, filed a statement of 2024 candidacy with the Federal Election Commission.
Conyears-Ervin told the Sun-Times in a statement: “Last month, I announced I was exploring a run for Congress, and that process continues. In the coming months, I will determine how I can best serve the people of the Seventh Congressional District.”
When she launched her exploratory bid in April, Conyears-Ervin explained why she was potentially jumping in the Democratic 2024 primary: “Unfortunately, congressional races are long, logistically complicated, and expensive. I am taking this step today in order to ensure that I have the proper infrastructure to hit the ground running when the right time comes.
“Congressman Danny Davis has ably served the people of the Seventh District for many years. Whenever he should choose to retire, I will be running to succeed him and continue his legacy of service.”
A member of the powerful Ways and Means Committee, Davis represents the 7th Congressional District.
Davis is close to the top House Democrat, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. — and Jeffries is headlining a Thursday “labor breakfast” reception for Davis in Washington. Jeffries came to Chicago during the 2022 election to campaign with Davis.
According to the invitation, the ask ranges from $150 for an individual to $5,000 for political action committees.
The chair of the Davis 2024 campaign is Anthony Oliver, a former executive director of StreetWise; a co-chair is state Rep. La Shawn Ford, D-Chicago.
Conyears-Ervin, 47, reelected treasurer on Feb. 28, filed her statement of candidacy with the FEC on April 18.
Conyears-Ervin’s husband is Ald. Jason C. Ervin, whose 28th Ward sweeps in parts of the West Side.
In the heavily Democratic 7th District, winning the primary is tantamount to clinching the seat.
The district runs west from parts of Chicago’s downtown to the western suburbs, including Maywood and Oak Park, with a leg on the near South Side, taking in parts of Bronzeville and Washington Park.
Politically, it is rooted on the West Side, where Davis had served as an alderperson from 1979 to 1990 and as a Cook County commissioner from 1990 until joining Congress. He was first elected to U.S. House of Representatives on Nov. 5, 1996.
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