Darin McKay LaHood ( ; born July 5, 1968) is an American attorney and politician who has served as a U.S. representative from Illinois since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, LaHood has represented the 16th district since 2023, and previously represented the 18th district from 2015 to 2023. He previously served in the Illinois Senate from the 37th legislative district from 2011 to 2015, before being elected to Congress in a special election following the resignation of Aaron Schock.
He has called himself a fiscal conservative focused on budget issues.
During the 2022 redistricting process, the 18th congressional district was eliminated as Illinois lost a seat in the apportionment process. After new district boundaries were adopted, LaHood opted to run in the 16th congressional district.
Early life
A native of Peoria, Illinois, LaHood is the son of Kathy (Dunk) and Ray LaHood, the 16th United States Secretary of Transportation and before that a seven-term U.S. representative for the district his son now represents. His father is of Lebanese and German descent.
The younger LaHood is the eldest of four siblings, and went to Academy of Our Lady/Spalding Institute. He graduated from Loras College in Iowa and received his Juris Doctor from John Marshall Law School.
Career as an attorney
LaHood was a prosecutor in the Tazewell County state's attorney's office and the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Nevada in Las Vegas. On returning to Peoria in 2005, he took up private law practice; he is in the Peoria law firm of Miller, Hall & Triggs.
Early political career
LaHood ran for Peoria County state's attorney in 2008, losing to incumbent Kevin Lyons, 43,208 votes to 36,449. He was also involved in several other Republican campaigns, including Bill Brady's 2010 campaign for governor and Dan Rutherford's campaign for Illinois Treasurer.
LaHood was appointed to the Illinois Senate on February 27, 2011, at age 42. He took office on March 1, the day after Dale Risinger retired. When appointed, LaHood announced he would run for election to a full term in 2012, which he won, running unopposed.
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
2015 special
On July 7, 2015, LaHood defeated Mike Flynn 69%–28%, in the Republican primary for Illinois's 18th congressional district, replacing Aaron Schock. He defeated Democratic nominee Rob Mellon in the September 10 special general election by a large margin. He was sworn in by House Speaker John Boehner on September 17, 2015.
2016
In the November 8, 2016, general election, LaHood defeated Democratic nominee Junius Rodriguez, 250,506 votes (72.1%) to 96,770 (27.9%).
2018
In the November 6, 2018, general election, LaHood defeated Rodriguez again, 195,927 votes (67.2%) to 95,486 (32.8%).
2020
In the November 3, 2020, general election, LaHood defeated Democratic nominee George Petrilli, 261,840 votes (70.41%) to 110,039 (29.59%).
Tenure
LaHood serves on the House Ways and Means Committee and the Committee on the Chinese Communist Party .
On May 25, 2016, LaHood introduced legislation through the Science, Space, and Technology Committee that approved the Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD) Modernization Act of 2016. The NITRD Program was originally authorized by the High Performance Computing Act of 1991. NITRD is the federal government's primary research portfolio on transformative high-end computing, high-speed networking, high capacity systems software, cybersecurity, and related advanced information technologies.
LaHood drew criticism from constituents for declining to hold an open town hall during the February 2017 recess. Constituents from across the 18th congressional district gathered in Bloomington Normal and Jacksonville to request a town hall to discuss a variety of issues, including access to health care, immigration laws, and freedom of the press. LaHood spoke to the demonstrators outside the Farm Bureau building in Peoria who had come to push for a town hall, saying: "We live in a democracy. People may not always agree with me and that's why I have to go before voters like I did in November. I was fortunate to receive 72 percent of the vote in that election. But this is part of the process."
LaHood is a member of the Republican Main Street Partnership and the Republican Study Committee.