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- Rep. Adam Kinzinger could lose his House seat in the redistricting process, Politico reported.
- Illinois Democrats are planning to remove his district, sources told Politico.
- Kinzinger said he's not "overthinking" it and left open the options of a Senate or governor run.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
Rep. Adam Kinzinger is likely to lose his House seat after Illinois Democrats redraw the state map for the post-2020 redistricting cycle, according to a Politico report on Wednesday.
Kinzinger, who rose to prominence in the Trump era as a vocal critic of the former president, has represented Illinois' 16th Congressional District, which covers the exurbs of Chicago, since 2013.
Democratic state lawmakers, who are in control of Illinois' redistricting map, are planning to remove Kinzinger's seat, sources familiar with the process told Politico. If that happens, Kinzinger may have to run for another office in the blue-leaning state should he choose to remain an elected official next year.
Kinzinger told Politico that he "certainly wouldn't rule out Senate or governor and anything else."
"Maybe, who knows?" he said.
Yet the congressional Republican added that staying in office is not "necessary" because, "I still have a passion for what I'm doing and so I'd still fight hard for what I believe."
Kinzinger said he knows his seat may get axed and is not "overthinking" it.
"If I lose my district, we'll take a look then," he told Politico. "But I'm not too freaked out."
Redistricting is a legal process that happens every 10 years. It requires state legislatures to redraw their congressional maps based on new census data. States are still readying the release of their new district lines as the coronavirus pandemic substantially delayed census counting in 2020.
Due to a declining population in the 2020 census, Illinois is expected to lose one House seat.
Republicans hold an advantage in the redistricting process after their success in state elections. They control more maps than Democrats, putting them in a strong position to win back the House majority in the 2022 midterms.
Illinois, however, is one of the states fully controlled by Democrats for redistricting. State Democratic lawmakers claim that potentially dropping Kinzinger's district is based on geographical considerations, Politico reported.
"If the Democrats think that they're just going to draw him out and that'll be the end of Kinzinger, I think they might want to take a second look," former Republican Rep. Bob Dold of Illinois told Politico. "The Democrats, if they were smart, would leave that district alone."