Candidate for Costello Seat in Du Quoin
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[A 2010 Republican candidate for Illinois Lt. Governor says government should be the solution to Southern Illinois' never ending recession--but isn't. Instead, it's the problem.
Jason Plummer is hoping that voters who respected him then as Sen. Bill Brady's running mate (Brady lost by the thinnest of margins to incumbent Pat Quinn) will support him in his announced race for retiring Congressman Jerry Costello's 12th district congressional seat.
Plummer, vice-president for the RP Lumber, Inc. chain of lumber yards in Illinois and Missouri--was in Du Quoin last Tuesday to meet with the local media.
Costello announced in early October that he would not seek reelection. Plummer says that his campaign will focus on "reigning in government spending and reforming the country's tax and regulatory systems so the government gets out of the way of small businesses."
"Anyone age 72 or younger has known only two congressmen (Democrats Jerry Costello and Melvin Price)," said Plummer. And, anyone half that age has never known anything but recession, says Plummer, a proponent of term limitations.
Not only is Plummer a businessman, he also serves as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Naval Reserves.
Plummer was born in Staunton and moved to Edwardsville at a young age. He attended Edwardsville High School before enrolling and graduating from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2005 with a degree in Finance.
Plummer has served as an intern for former Illinois Senator Peter Fitzgerald and the The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think-tank.
Prior to running for lieutenant governor, he also served as the chairman of the Madison County Republican party.
In 2009, Plummer announced he would seek the Republican nomination for Illinois Lieutenant Governor for the 2010 election. Plummer won the February primary, finishing ahead of the five other candidates in the field.
Out of the 102 counties in Illinois, Plummer finished first in 78 of them and came in second in the other 24 counties. In the general election, State Sen. Bill Brady, the Republican nominee for governor, and Plummer narrowly lost to Gov. Pat Quinn and his running mate Sheila Simon. Two other Republican candidates are seeking the Congressional nomination. Roger Cook, the former mayor of Belleville and Theresa Kormos of O'Fallon have both declared their intention to run for the nomination.