Joshua Loyd

Joshua Loyd (Republican Party) is running for election to the U.S. House to represent Illinois' 13th Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election.^[source]

Biography

Joshua Loyd was born in Murphysboro, Illinois. He graduated from Carbondale Community High School. Loyd served in the U.S. Army. He earned a bachelor's degree from the United States Military Academy in 2022.^[1]

Elections

2026

Note: At this time, Ballotpedia is combining all declared candidates for this election into one list under a general election heading. As primary election dates are published, this information will be updated to separate general election candidates from primary candidates as appropriate.

General election

The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.

General election for U.S. House Illinois District 13

Incumbent Nikki Budzinski, Joshua Loyd, and Jeff Wilson are running in the general election for U.S. House Illinois District 13 on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Nikki Budzinski (D)
		Joshua Loyd (R)
	Submit photo	Jeff Wilson (R)

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
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Endorsements

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2024

Illinois' 13th Congressional District election, 2024 (March 19 Republican primary)

Illinois' 13th Congressional District election, 2024 (March 19 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Illinois District 13

Incumbent Nikki Budzinski defeated Joshua Loyd and Chibu Asonye in the general election for U.S. House Illinois District 13 on November 5, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Nikki Budzinski (D)	58.1	191,339
	Joshua Loyd (R)	41.9	137,917
	Chibu Asonye (Independent) (Write-in)	0.1	244

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 329,500
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Bradley Horges Jr. (Independent)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 13

Incumbent Nikki Budzinski advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 13 on March 19, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Nikki Budzinski	100.0	32,314

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 32,314
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Layne Willhite (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Illinois District 13

Joshua Loyd defeated Thomas Clatterbuck in the Republican primary for U.S. House Illinois District 13 on March 19, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Joshua Loyd	55.9	15,633
	Thomas Clatterbuck	44.1	12,320

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 27,953
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Loyd in this election.

2022

General election

General election for U.S. House Illinois District 7

Incumbent Danny K. Davis defeated Chad Koppie, Roger Romanelli, and Joshua Loyd in the general election for U.S. House Illinois District 7 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Danny K. Davis (D)	99.9	167,650
		Chad Koppie (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	83
	Submit photo	Roger Romanelli (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	10
		Joshua Loyd (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	3

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 167,746
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 7

Incumbent Danny K. Davis defeated Kina Collins and Denarvis Mendenhall in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 7 on June 28, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Danny K. Davis	51.9	39,230
	Kina Collins	45.7	34,574
	Denarvis Mendenhall	2.4	1,808

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 75,612
= 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

Edward Ward (D)

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

Joshua Loyd has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey. If you are Joshua Loyd, click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.

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2024

Joshua Loyd completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2023. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Loyd's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Joshua Loyd is a US Army Veteran serving both in the National Guard and Active duty component. Mr. Loyd graduated from the United States Military Academy with a degree in Management: Business and an engineering focus of Electrical Engineering. He is the recipient of the "Gold" Presidential Volunteer Service Award. Some organizations he has volunteered with include Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR), SkillsUSA Illinois, and Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Mr. Loyd first ran, and was elected, as a Precinct committeeman in Jackson County Illinois.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Teacher: The teacher is the illuminating torch of the future. Without educators at all level, our posterity would not have the 'tools' in order to excell on the national stage. Joshua Loyd wants to focus his attention on improving access to post-secondary education, access to vocational training and apprenticeships, and educational resources that will help both educators and students excel in and out of the classroom.
Preacher: The preacher is the symbol for wellness and caring for us holistically. This means NGO's, Healthcare workers, volunteers, and faith based resources that help improve the community. Mr. Loyd wants to focus on helping these organizations by equipping them with the resources they need to perform their duties and volunteer work.
Soldier: The symbol of strength, protection, law and order. Mr. Loyd is a proud veteran who stands with the men and women in uniform, regardless if that is military, police and fire, or any other type of civil employee. As a community, we agree to abide by certain rules of law and it is these individuals that help ensure our safety, freedom, and American way of life. We must help them by ensuring they have the support needed to function and operate effectively.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Education, National Defense, Monetary, and Infrastructure

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Elected Officials need to understand ethics. Whether it is Utilitarian or deontological, officials must understand why they make tough decisions and what standard they stand by. It is often hypocritical of politicians jumping back and fourth on topics just because it no longer fits their narrative.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

Joshua Loyd puts people first. He finds joy in conversing with people and getting to know them.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

In 2011, Joshua Loyd visited Washington D.C. with his mother for a Yellow Ribbon event. While touring the national mall, a faith based Christian organization asked if we would like a prayer. As the Blonde haired gentleman placed his hand on Joshua and started to pray, a 5.8 magnitude earthquake struck Washington D.C., the largest in over 100 years. Although the ground shook, they continued to pray.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Tony Stark

What qualities does the U.S. House of Representatives possess that makes it unique as an institution?

The US House of Representatives is interesting because it is a broad body of individuals ranging from every sector of life, from every ethnicity, from every view point, in order to focus on one nation as a whole body.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?

No

What do you perceive to be the United States’ greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

Over the next decade the greatest challenge for the US will be an aging population, boarder security and control, civil unrest, the foreign near-peer adversaries, and the shift into a more Artificial Intelligence controlled workforce.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

Term limits are necessary to ensure the peoples, not those who can manipulate the system, to have their voices heard

Both sitting representatives and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

While serving in Military Funeral Honors, Joshua Loyd heard from friends and families stories of their loved ones. It was extremely impactful to hear that people sometimes realize what is important in life only after it is too late. Joshua Loyd has heard dozens of stories from different communities of Illinois, rural and urban, about the life of these individuals and what they believed in, how they treated other, what they enjoyed doing, and many more interesting stories that help shape a person as an individual.

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 website

Loyd’s campaign website stated the following:

“

Agriculture
Joshua Loyd stands behind our farmers. As a National leader, Illinois ranks #1 in Soy production, #2 in Corn, and #4 in Swine. Illinois agriculture supports over 482,000 Jobs.

As a result, Joshua Loyd believes there should be less legislative burden on farmers and greater access to agricultural resources. Some examples include:
-Supply chain resources
-Flood Protections
-Easier H-2A access
-Wellness Resources
-Access to training

If you would like to help better Illinois Agriculture, please consider being a volunteer.

Economy and Government Spending
YOU should not feel the burden of wasteful government spending.

The US is over $31 trillion in debt. That is astronomical! Have you ever thought of where that money goes? Joshua Loyd is adamant about reducing wasteful spending and creating an accountability mechanism to ensure Federal funds are spent resourcefully.

Teachers should not feel the burden of wasteful government spending.

Farmers should not feel the burden of wasteful government spending.

If you want to see how the government wastes your money, visit: https://posey.house.gov/wasteful-spending/

Protecting Social Security & Medicare
Millions of Americans rely on Social Security and Medicare. Unfortunately, the Federal government's Social Security program is expected to collapse within the next 2 decades (2035). Joshua Loyd supports work on protecting the Americans who rely on Social Security and Medicare without privatizing the system.

Congress needs to take a good look at Social Security because the working generation should not have to worry about paying into a system that might not be there when they are ready to retire.

2nd Amendment
The Second Amendment was written by patriots who fought off a tyrannical government to ensure the freedom of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Joshua Loyd is a supporter of the Second Amendment.

The Problem is not guns. The issue of many gun-related problems stems from mental health, gang violence, and self-inflicted incidents.

On average, there are roughly 270 guns for every square mile in the United States.

If you oppose guns, your concern is understandable, and it's completely understandable to be worried. Guns are instruments and can be dangerous; they should be handled with the utmost precaution, but just remember 800K Rwandans, 2 million Cambodians, 300K Ugandans, 100-200K Guatemalans, and 20-35 million Chinese [...] were brutally murdered after Gun Control legislation.

Let us help those who are mentally ill and those who come from unfortunate social backgrounds before considering stripping Constitutional rights from individuals.

(PS Criminals don't care about the rule of law, why would gun laws be any different?)

Vocational Trades & Education
One-third of all American employers say they can't find the right workers because of the lack of applicants with the right skills. This has become known as the 'Skills Gap'. Joshua Loyd is a strong believer in Career and Technical Education (CTE) at the high school and post-secondary educational levels. Joshua Loyd has also served numerous roles advocating for Career and Technical Student Organizations (CTSO) funding at the federal level.

By increasing access to CTE we are not only helping fund critically needed skilled labor, but we are helping reduce the overall amount of educational debt the US incurs each year.

Organizations considered CTSO include:

-FFA
-SkillsUSA
-FBLA
-DECA
-HOSA

Visit https://www.isbe.net/ctso to learn more

National Parks & Environment
One of the greatest gifts given to us Americans is our precious landscapes, including the beautiful and majestic national parks. Our nation has a duty to protect and ensure the longevity of the natural environment and its resources, and Joshua Loyd will work to enforce this.

As you may know, the United States is home to some awe-inspiring landscapes and natural environments such as the Rocky Mountains, Yosemite, Yellowstone, and Acadia.

These national treasures are not only majestic in beauty and resource, but they provide numerous benefits to both humans and wildlife.

That is why it is so important that we work to preserve and protect these vital resources for future generations.

I am not opposed to resource extraction, only the pollution and derangement of the area once finished. I hope we can all agree that conservation is a crucial step in the process of land management.

National Defense
As a veteran, Joshua Loyd proudly supports our men and women in uniform. He believes our military is a fundamental core component of our democracy and freedom that we enjoy every single day.

With the United States nearing a war that could be a near-peer competition, Joshua Loyd believes we must maintain a strong and capable military. Further, Joshua Loyd wants to ensure military spending is happening appropriately and that proper military standards and training processes are occurring without mismanagement.

Infrastructure
With the rapidly aging infrastructure of the past century, Joshua Loyd is adamant that we as a nation start looking ahead into the future and determine what type of infrastructure is necessary to continue our success as a nation. Not even 100 years ago, the common household did not have electricity. Today, we have an aging and overloaded power grid. 100 years ago, common plumbing was not a thing. Today, our municipalities provide water but are often wrecked by outdated and aged infrastructure.

Let us update and modernize our infrastructure!

Some examples Joshua Loyd is focused on include intrastate travel through Springfield to St. Louis and Chicago, electrical grid modernization, and governmental agency realignments.

Limited Government
Limited Government means that people are free to live their lives as they choose, and express themselves without undue interference.

Protection of States' Rights: This helps to ensure that laws and regulations are tailored to the specific needs and values of different regions and populations.

A limited government also encourages innovation and entrepreneurship by minimizing regulations and restrictions on businesses and individuals.

Individuals: The government has no right in interfering with a person's life, liberty, or pursuit of happiness. The more laws we enact on the public, the fewer freedoms we can claim we have. Joshua Loyd will ensure the government has no place between you and your freedoms.

Free Enterprise
Free enterprise encourages economic growth and prosperity by promoting competition, innovation, and efficiency. When businesses are free to compete, they are motivated to produce high-quality goods and services at lower prices. Free enterprise encourages entrepreneurship by providing opportunities for individuals to start their businesses and pursue their ideas. This helps to protect individual freedoms, choices, and prevents government overreach.

Further, there must be consumer and labor protection laws that ensure the safety of people from unnecessary dangers.

To best translate Joshua Loyds values, he likes to use imagery. Together, the "Teacher, Preacher, & Service" make a trinity of the "Three Noble Pillars". They represent the Mind, Heart, and Strength of our nation.

Teacher
As the mind of our nation, Teachers are educators but also gate keepers. They include the trades and academia. These professionals help people by providing them with knowledge and skills needed for making a living and gaining a sense of satisfaction.

Preacher
As the heart of our nation, and cultivator of spiritual sanctity, the Preacher is entrusted with caring for us holistically. From physical and mental health to spiritual and religious beliefs, the Preacher represents our health; physically, mentally, and spiritually.

Service
As the strength of our nation, the Service member is entrusted with our peace and security. The Service member is the wall, the fortress of resolute sacrifice. Preserving our freedom and sovereignty is essential for our nation’s identity, and our armed forces help us protect this identity. In every one of our communities, law and order preserves our safety and our justice system. The service member represents justice, security, law, and order.^[2]

”

—Joshua Loyd’s campaign website (2024)^[3]

2022

Joshua Loyd did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign finance summary

Ballotpedia Logo Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

Joshua Loyd campaign contribution history
Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2026*	U.S. House Illinois District 13	Candidacy Declared general	$0	N/A**
2024*	U.S. House Illinois District 13	Lost general	$90,608	$88,886
Grand total			$90,608	$88,886
Sources: OpenSecrets, Federal Elections Commission *This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

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Footnotes

↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on March 30, 2023
↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
↑ loydforcongress.com, “Issues,” accessed February 23, 2024

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[1] Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on March 30, 2023

[quotedisclaimer-2] Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.

[3] loydforcongress.com, “Issues,” accessed February 23, 2024

[1]

[2]

[3]

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Joshua Loyd

Biography

Elections

2026

General election

General election for U.S. House Illinois District 13

Endorsements

2024

General election

General election for U.S. House Illinois District 13

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 13

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Illinois District 13

Endorsements

2022

General election

General election for U.S. House Illinois District 7

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Illinois District 7

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

2024

Campaign website

2022

Campaign finance summary

See also

External links

Footnotes

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