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Matt Hausman
From Ballotpedia
This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.
Matt Hausman (Republican Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Illinois' 13th Congressional District. He lost in the Republican primary on June 28, 2022.
Hausman completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Matt Hausman was born in Illinois. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign in 2001, a graduate degree from the University of Colorado, Boulder in 2003, and a graduate degree from Loyola Marymount University in 2009. His career experience includes working as a nonprofit executive, aerospace engineer, high school teacher, and on his family farm.[1]
Elections
2022
See also: Illinois' 13th Congressional District election, 2022
General election
General election for U.S. House Illinois District 13
Nikki Budzinski defeated Regan Deering in the general election for U.S. House Illinois District 13 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Nikki Budzinski (D) | 56.6 | 141,788 |
 | Regan Deering (R)  | 43.4 | 108,646 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.0 | 16 | ||
| Total votes: 250,450 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 13
Nikki Budzinski defeated David Palmer in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 13 on June 28, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Nikki Budzinski | 75.6 | 31,593 |
 | David Palmer | 24.4 | 10,216 | |
| Total votes: 41,809 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Ellis Taylor (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Illinois District 13
Regan Deering defeated Jesse Reising, Matt Hausman, and Terry Martin in the Republican primary for U.S. House Illinois District 13 on June 28, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Regan Deering | 34.6 | 14,885 |
 | Jesse Reising | 32.9 | 14,184 | |
 | Matt Hausman | 23.9 | 10,289 | |
 | Terry Martin | 8.6 | 3,694 | |
| Total votes: 43,052 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Matt Hausman completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Hausman's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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I was able to live out my version of the American Dream. I grew up on the family farm in Central Illinois, and from there, went on to become an aerospace engineer for Boeing and SpaceX. I realized that not everyone has the same opportunities I had, so I wanted to give back and help the next generation reach their dreams. I left the industry to become a high school government teacher at a low income charter school for four years. Later, I left the aerospace industry again to travel the world and volunteer for a variety of nonprofit programs in different countries. I returned back to Central Illinois four years ago to begin taking over the family farm. For the past three years, I have been running a nonprofit in Champaign that serves food to more than 1000 hungry children across Champaign County. I also serve the community on the county mental health board and on the county forest preserve district foundation board. Additionally, I am a founding member of the local chapter of Braver Angels, a group trying to bridge the partisan divide. I am running for Congress because I have had enough of self-serving politicians using divisiveness, fear, and outrage to win elections. Then they never do anything for everyday Americans. I want to bring Central Illinois values to Washington and bring people together to help the people of the 13th district achieve their own version of the American Dream.
- Our country is too divided, and self-serving politicians make it worse for their own gain. I want to bring people together.
- Most politicians tell you what they think you want to hear. I am willing to be direct with you, even on issues where we disagree. But we can do so respectfully and I will always be willing to listen.
- It is not my lifelong ambition to be a politician. I am running because politicians are worried more about themselves and their political careers. I only want to go to Washington for a few years to serve our community, and then return home to the farm.
As a former teacher and a nonprofit executive, youth and education are areas for which I have a great passion. Education is supposed to be the great equalizer, but we are failing our children. A strong education for the next generation affects so many other areas of public policy. Crime is currently a big issue. But, while we need to make sure our law enforcement officers are fully supported, we need to go beyond that and address the root causes of crime This includes shutting down the school to prison pipeline. We need a renewed focus on early intervention programs, because most children are already starting down a bad path by third grade. An education system that encourages innovation and creative and critical thinking will also stimulate our economy in the long term. We do not need burdensome government regulation to address issues like climate change, we need our best and brightest minds to be set loose and allow them to find creative solutions. This is how the United States can continue to lead the world.
Personally, my grandfather, John Hausman, is the man I most look up to and would like to be like. He was highly respected and the most intelligent, kind, and humble man I will ever know. He was also a dedicated servant to his local community. From the start, my goals has been to run a campaign that he would be proud of.
I have watched Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, especially the "Lost Causes" speech, many times.
Integrity is the single most critical trait, and one that is sorely missing in politics right now. Politicians do what is necessary to win and keep power rather than what is best for the American people.
My varied background allows me to see issues from different perspectives and connect with all different types of people. This will help me be successful both in negotiating legislation with different stakeholders, but also in talking with different constituents.
Especially as a first term Representative, I would be limited in what I can do regarding the legislative agenda. Therefore, the core responsibility would be constituent service, and making sure I serve with integrity for the good of all my constituents, not just a select subgroup that supports me.
That I was always willing to do the right thing, even if it wasn't easy or popular.
I remember the Challenger explosion, which happened when I was six years old. I don't know if I was already interested in space travel at that age or not, but that might have been why I paid close attention to it.
My first job was working on the family farms. Most of the work was on my grandparents' dairy farm. The early chores were thinks like feeding and watering the calves. As I got older, I had many more responsibilities taking care of the cattle.
Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl. It is such an incredible book written by a psychologist that survived the Holocaust. It gives so much insight into the human condition and how we can find purpose for ourselves even in the most dire of situations.
The House was set up to be the part of the federal government closest to the people. That was why all revenue bills are supposed to start in the House. There are good and bad aspects of that. It is good because representatives have to be more responsive to their constituents. The flip side of that though is that representatives have an incentive to focus more on what their specific base of support wants, rather than their district or the nation as a whole.
Experience is always a benefit, but it is not a requirement. And it is often good to get an outsider's perspective.
Hyper-partisanship and polarization is our single biggest challenge. The two sides do not even have a shared reality. If we do not even have that foundation, we can not address any other challenge that our country faces.
Agriculture would be the primary committee I would want to join. Agriculture is critical to the 13th district, and next year is the reauthorization for the farm bill. Therefore, it is critical that we have a representative that can be a strong and knowledgeable voice for agriculture. Additionally, 2/3 of the farm bill goes to nutrition programs, and my experience running a hunger nonprofit will allow me to connect and negotiate on that issue with other representatives. In addition to Agriculture, given my background, I would also like to serve on the Education and Labor committee.
Initially it made sense. Unfortunately, given the nature of our campaigns and political cycle, it seems that initially upon election, our representatives are already working on their re-election. The term length is not going to change anytime soon, but it is critical to understand one of the downsides to such a short term.
I support term limits. I would like to see an amendment limiting senators to two terms and representatives to six terms. Studies of states with term limits have shown that too short of term limits give too much power to bureaucrats who simply need to wait out legislators and can take advantage of inexperienced legislators. That is why I think a limit of 12 years for each chamber makes sense.
I admire Ben Sasse, the Republican Senator from Nebraska. He is one of the more conservative members of the Senate, but has often called for more civility and spoken out against the toxic partisanship infecting our politics.
Yes. Our framers set up a system of government where compromise was necessary in order to get things done. This was to prevent tyranny from any one faction. Too many people seem to have forgotten that and look at compromise as a bad thing, which is to the detriment of our country. We have 300 million people, so we have 300 million different opinions. We need to realize that we must come together to get things done.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
See also
2022 Elections
External links
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Candidate U.S. House Illinois District 13 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on June 22, 2022
Senators
Tammy Duckworth (D)
Dick Durbin (D)
Representatives
District 1
Jonathan Jackson (D)
District 2
Robin Kelly (D)
District 3
Delia Ramirez (D)
District 4
Jesus Garcia (D)
District 5
Mike Quigley (D)
District 6
Sean Casten (D)
District 7
Danny Davis (D)
District 8
District 9
Jan Schakowsky (D)
District 10
Brad Schneider (D)
District 11
Bill Foster (D)
District 12
Mike Bost (R)
District 13
Nikki Budzinski (D)
District 14
Lauren Underwood (D)
District 15
Mary Miller (R)
District 16
Darin LaHood (R)
District 17
Eric Sorensen (D)
Democratic Party (16)
Republican Party (3)
