Illinois state Sen. Darin LaHood, son of President Obama’s former Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, plans to run for office to replace outgoing and embattled U.S. Rep. Aaron Shock in Congress, The Associated Press reported Wednesday.
LaHood, a Republican, shared his plans on Wednesday morning on WMBD radio.
RELATED: Rep. Aaron Schock resigning amid cloud of ethics questions
A day earlier, Illinois GOP Rep. Aaron Schock said he will resign from Congress at the end of the month, following the controversy over his office’s spending habits. Damaging allegations against Schock continued right up to his resignation announcement. Schock, 33, once was viewed as a rising star in the Republican Party. He was the first member of Congress born in the 1980s.
LaHood, who has been in the state Senate since 2011, reportedly said he has been encouraged to try and run.
“When Schock announced his intent to run for Congress, we wondered, due to his lack of experience, whether he had the maturity,” the elder LaHood told The Chicago Sun-Times late Tuesday. “My son will announce within the next couple of days he will run for the seat vacated by Congressman Schock.”
Ray Lahood preceded Schock in Congress. Schock won a seat in the Illinois state House when he was 23 years old, and he was elected to U.S. Congress when he was 27 in 2008.
A special election will be held to fill Schock’s soon-to-be-vacant seat.
Michele Richinick