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Randy Raley

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Randy Raley
Democratic Party
Elections and appointments
Last election
March 17, 2026
Education
High school
United Township High School
Personal
Birthplace
Moline, IL
Religion
United Church of Christ
Profession
Radio host
Contact
Campaign website
Campaign Facebook
Campaign Instagram
Campaign YouTube
Campaign TikTok

Randy Raley (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Illinois' 15th Congressional District. He lost in the Democratic primary on March 17, 2026.

Raley completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Randy Raley was born in Moline, Illinois. He earned a high school diploma from United Township High School. Raley's career experience includes working as a radio host, advertising director, and district manager for AutoTrader.[1]

Elections

2026

See also: Illinois' 15th Congressional District election, 2026

Illinois' 15th Congressional District election, 2026 (March 17 Democratic primary)

Illinois' 15th Congressional District election, 2026 (March 17 Republican primary)

General election

The candidate list in this election may not be complete.

General election for U.S. House Illinois District 15

Incumbent Mary Miller and Jennifer Todd are running in the general election for U.S. House Illinois District 15 on November 3, 2026.

Candidate
Image of Mary Miller
Mary Miller (R)
Image of Jennifer Todd
Jennifer Todd (D) Candidate Connection

Incumbents are bolded and underlined.

Candidate Connection = 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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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 15

Jennifer Todd defeated Paul Davis, Randy Raley, and Kyle Nudo in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 15 on March 17, 2026.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Jennifer Todd
Jennifer Todd Candidate Connection
 
45.7
 
13,206
Image of Paul Davis
Paul Davis Candidate Connection
 
33.9
 
9,790
Image of Randy Raley
Randy Raley Candidate Connection
 
11.4
 
3,293
Image of Kyle Nudo
Kyle Nudo
 
9.1
 
2,622

There were no incumbents in this race. Source 1 Source 2

Total votes: 28,911
Candidate Connection = 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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Illinois District 15

Incumbent Mary Miller defeated Ryan Tebrugge and Judy Bowlby in the Republican primary for U.S. House Illinois District 15 on March 17, 2026.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Mary Miller
Mary Miller
 
73.5
 
62,851
Image of Ryan Tebrugge
Ryan Tebrugge Candidate Connection
 
14.9
 
12,771
Image of Judy Bowlby
Judy Bowlby Candidate Connection
 
11.6
 
9,926

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. Source 1 Source 2

Total votes: 85,548
Candidate Connection = 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.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

Randy Raley completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Raley's responses.

Expand all | Collapse all

Born to a union steward and a waitress, I was born in Moline and moved to farm in Ava Mo when I was 10. I lived on a working farm until moving back to Moline when I was 15. Going from a Lilly white class of 85 to a class of almost 800 and 30% of the kids did not look like me. That taught me how important it was to get along without fellow a man. After high school I went to work for JI Case in the Quad Cities working my way up to being a union steward myself. I became involved in the radio profession at 20, moved to Kansas City at 23, and to St. Louis in 1985, joining KSHE 95 and spent 13 years doing the afternoon drive time show. After bouncing around a bit, I became the advertising directors for 3 small rural newspapers about 60 miles south of St. Louis. I then became the District Manager for Autotrader.com. I got back into radio and currently have a part time job at a small radio station south of St. Louis. Having worked all of my adult life, I am now on social security and Medicare, wondering how long those entitlements will be around. I live in Highland with a dog and a cat. I have two daughters and a step son, spread from Los Angele to Raleigh North Carolina.
  • Protect and strengthen family farms. Make broadband available to every residence in the district. Expand crop insurance and disaster options. Make sure farmers are getting a fair price, invest in local farmer's markets
  • Release federal funding for infrastructure projects from new water treatment plants, water towers, roads and bridges, etc. More good paying jobs that help lift up the middle class
  • Healthcare. Let's keep hospitals and nursing homes open and funded. Expand local mental health and addiction centers in the district. Better pay for nurses and caregivers.
Equal rights for all. Reproductive rights. Clean energy
My brother. he did two tours in Viet Nam and was a war hero. he fought hand to hand with the Viet Cong in the jungle for almost 36 hours. he radioed air and ground troops and saved a lot of his men. I would like to follow the example of Jimmy Carter who gave his life to charity up until the day he died.
The West Wing
Honesty. Transparency. The willingness to compromise for the greater good. The ability to over deliver on promises made to the people in the district. To be a true representation of the district.
The ability to listen and the ability to communicate. the ability to speak well in front of large crowds. A connection to the district. I share the frustrations of the 15th when it comes to our lack of representation. I will go where the people go and meet them where they are. Iw ill schedule town halls, meetings etc. I am accountable for my actions and feel I can be trusted. My personal values are on display all of the time.
To listen to the needs of the people residing in the district. To draft legislation to benefit the common good. To participate in committees, to vote on legislation. To get district interests served. Working on in case studies for constituents to help navigate red tape. being in touch with constituents, hosting town halls, etc.
That I served my family, friends and my country well.
The Cuban Missile Crisis. It was the very first time I noticed fear in my parents. You could see the worry on my mom's face. I was 7.
De tasseling corn at 12. Still the worst job I've ever had. I had it for two years.
Lord of the Flies. It prepared me for the actions of people in my future.
Batman
"Never" by Heart (?)
Addiction. My mother was addicted to alcohol and nicotine at an early age and these genes got passed down, but after a few scares and talking to someone, I am confident where I am today.
It originates laws, taxes. House members are closer to their constituents. It has a wider range of people from a wider swath of America. Powers to impeach. the house moves at a quicker pace.
Yes and no. Experience allows better ways to navigate the complexities of Congress. Knowledge of policy and prior relationships help. But, outsiders bring fresh new ideas. Some voters may be weary of lifetime politicians. Experience in the outside world may be as important to bring to the table
Political division. We are becoming more partisan which makes working on solutions harder. Misinformation. Income inequity and the decline of our rural farming base. Global security and Climate change.
No. It will be hard to accomplish anything when you have to turn around and think about running again.
I think three terms is quite enough for anyone in Congress.
Robert Kennedy Sr. Barack Obama current would be Melanie Stansbury from New Mexico
Just the number of stories I've heard about people losing Medicaid in the district and where will they go? where will the nurses, doctors, ENTs and orderlies go for employment if many hospitals close.
If I had a nickel for every time I didn't know what was going on, I would wonder where all of these nickels came from.
A compromise starts out with what two persons want and a successful compromise allows both parties to get what they need.
The Constitution gives the House the power of the purse for a reason—because it’s the chamber closest to the people. If I’m elected, I’ll use that responsibility to make sure our tax dollars are spent wisely and come back to communities like ours, not just big cities and bureaucracies. Every dollar we approve should be tied to real results: better roads and broadband, support for family farms, good schools, and keeping rural hospitals open. I’ll be a voice for fiscal responsibility and for making sure Washington remembers who they work for—the taxpayers.
Oversight of government. Accountability for abuse and fraud. To fact find and shape laws beneficial to the common good
Agricultural, to help set farm prices, rural concerns, conservation. Transportation, our infrastructure is in need of serious help and so does my district. Ways and Means and Space.
I believe the government should share openly how money is spent. There should be a clear path on how money is collected and spent. Full public exposure. This builds trust between citizens and government

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.

Campaign finance summary

Campaign finance information for this candidate is not yet available from the Federal Election Commission. That information will be published here once it is available.

See also

2026 Elections

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External links

Candidate

U.S. House Illinois District 15
  • Website
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • TikTok
    		•

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on July 29, 2025


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