Lance Yednock challenger Travis Breeden will receive money from state GOP

Residents within the 76th State Representative District can expect a fair amount of mailers come November.

Utica Republican Travis Breeden said he will receive support from the state party in his bid for the state representative seat held by Lance Yednock, D-Ottawa.

In 2018, Yednock defeated Jerry Long, R-Streator, to regain a seat Democrats held for decades.

Both candidates are uncontested in the primary.

The district, which includes La Salle, Bureau, Putnam and Livingston counties, has been viewed as a battleground by both state Republican and Democratic parties, drawing millions in campaign funds in 2016. During that race, Long defeated Democratic incumbent Andy Skoog, D-Utica, after Long raised $1.7 million for his campaign and Skoog pulled in $1.3 million.

The 2018 race figured to follow suit as thousands were pouring in for Yednock and Long, until the House Republican Organization withdrew its support for Long, after he was accused of harassment from one of his staffers.

Breeden said he doesn't know the extent of the support he'll receive, but he said the millions once spent in the district "was ridiculous."

"I don't think political races should cost that kind of money," he said. "To see millions spent on a two-year term, that's a lot of money. And to see all the mailers that come through, that's a lot of money to spend on something most people are going to throw away."

Including Yednock's victory, Democrats gained a 74-44 supermajority in the House.

Breeden said the House Republican Organization believes it will be important to gain the seat from Yednock, before he becomes a multi-term incumbent.

"The longer he's an incumbent in office, the harder it is to beat him," Breeden said.

Yednock's campaign has $652,399 in its coffers as of Dec. 31, according to the latest quarterly report submitted by his campaign to the Illinois State Board of Elections.

Breeden's campaign has not yet filed a report of campaign contributions.