A Monmouth-Roseville art teacher and longtime Maytag employee announced today that he’ll battle Republican nominee Jill Tracy for the Senate seat being vacated by Democratic Sen. John Sullivan.
Kurt Fowler will run a write-in campaign as an independent leading up to this November’s election in the 47th District. Fowler tried to get on the ballot before the registration deadline, but says “complications” prevented him from doing so.
Tracy faced no challengers in the primary and technically has no opponent on the ballot.
Unlike the Mount Sterling Republican, this is Fowler’s first run for political office. He says he expected another candidate to emerge in the race which didn’t happen, so he’s running to give constituents a choice.
“I’m just the average Joe, ” Fowler says. “I think a lot of people can relate to me more than they can to Ms. Tracy.”
Among issues he’s concerned with, includes securing prorated public education funding from the state and the effect the proposed Monsanto-Bayer merger could have on local farms.
Fowler also says keeping Illinois workers in the state is a priority.
“Having lost a job, and it was a good, good job, I don’t want to see anybody anywhere lose a job,” Fowler says. “We need to make the business climate better.”
Fowler was an employee for 21 years in the former Galesburg Maytag plant.
He is a Monmouth College grad and has his Master’s degree and teaching certificate from Western Illinois University.
