XENIA – Long-time Illinois lawmaker Mike Bost will officially have a primary challenger when he runs for reelection next year for his 12th District Congressional seat that covers most of southern Illinois.

Former state GOP representative and senator Darren Bailey, who also ran an unsuccessful bid for governor, announced his candidacy Tuesday for the Congressional seat Bost has held since 2015.

Bailey made his announcement Tuesday at his farm in rural Xenia, where he promised to fight for Second Amendment rights and to safeguard our “God-given constitutional rights.”

Bost responded to the announcement by saying, “Bailey is putting selfish opportunism and personal ambition ahead of the interests of southern Illinois conservatives, and Republican primary voters won’t forget that.”

Before running for Congress in 2015, Bost had served 20 years in the Illinois House representing the 115th District.