David Palmer, Democratic Candidate in Illinois’ 13th congressional district
David Palmer is running in the Democratic primary for what is currently Illinois’ 13th congressional district. In its current form, the district covers a large stretch of Central Illinois, including the state capital, Springfield; communities in and around Bloomington, Decatur, Champaign; and portions of the St. Louis suburbs. This district was a top Red2Blue race in 2018 and 2020 – and it is expected to be so once again in the 2022 midterms, especially with reapportionment and Democrats in control of redistricting in the state.
David is a retirement planning advisor with Bloomington-based Country Financial. After retiring from his professional basketball career, David spent time with his wife, Chelsea, and her family in Champaign as Chelsea began to build her career at Central Illinois Produce.
It was during this time that he realized Central Illinois is the best possible place to work, live, and raise a family.
David focuses on policies that directly address the issues facing the residents of his community, such as the need for significant investment in new Green infrastructure, including more windmills and solar panels. These investments would bring high paying and stable jobs to Central Illinois and revitalize struggling local economies across the district.
While David’s work with Country Financial has given him the opportunity of helping everyday people improve their financial situation, it has also given him insight into the issues facing local farmers who are trying to plan for their retirement and small business owners who are struggling to get the resources they need to pursue their dreams.
He believes that healthcare should be affordable for everyone and that the fight against COVID-19 must be continued. To David, healthcare isn’t just a financial issue, it’s also a moral one. Access to quality healthcare is an imperative for communities to grow and prosper, and getting well should be a person’s only concern, not the cost of the care they need.
David wants to address the burden of College students who are breaking under the load of bone-crushing debt – with no relief in sight – by helping them to regain financial agency and enable new generations of the middle class.
These are just a few of the issues that David is passionate about – but most of all, he wants to ensure that he represents every single resident of the IL-13th, unlike the current elected representative. It shouldn’t matter if you are from a “red area” or a “blue area”, every resident of the district should feel as though their Congressman is accessible, listens to their problems, and does everything they can to make their constituents’ lives better.
That’s why David is running. It’s about service. Service to the community, to all of the residents of the 13th, and to all those forgotten by entrenched DC politicians who care more about reelection than sticking up for the people they serve.
David and his wife, Chelsea, have two children: David Jr. and a newborn daughter, Quincy. He is the son of David and Sharon Palmer, who raised him outside of Nashville. David grew up playing basketball at Oak Hill Academy and was recruited by the University of Iowa Hawkeyes before spending several years playing professionally across the globe.