With the right candidate, a Republican from Illinois in the Senate is within reach.
It has only been five months since the last election cycle wrapped up, and already we should have our sights set on the next round of elections. In 2024, Donald Trump was returned to the White House with a convincing victory which saw the Florida real estate magnate winning every swing state and increasing his support among blacks and Hispanics. With his Electoral College win, Trump also became the first GOP nominee for president to win the popular vote in two decades.
Though the 2024 election is now behind us, the 2026 midterm elections are drawing near and it is crucial to build on Trump’s national gains. Trump performed well in the State of Illinois, gaining three percentage points from 2020. Locally, support for Trump increased in Chicago, where he earned 22 percent of the city’s vote.
There is every reason to believe expanded support for Trump signals there is a momentum building for change to occur in Illinois.
While the Prairie State has long been known for sending congressional delegations dominated by Democrats to Washington, D.C., the 2026 elections present voters with a chance to break Democrats’ suffocating dominance over the state’s seats in the Senate. Since 1970, just three Republicans — Charles Percy, Peter Fitzgerald, Mark Kirk — have represented Illinois in the upper chamber of Congress.
Although the notion of a Republican senator from Illinois is viewed as a remote possibility, the path to a GOP victory is not as steep as imagined. In a race where the quality of the candidate will be crucial to determining the outcome of the race, it is a pleasure to welcome Dr. David Nayak to the Republican Party.
A distinguished physician of internal medicine noted for his work in the field of Allergy-Immunology, Nayak is also a businessman and philanthropist. The founder of Nayak Farms Food Insecurity Initiative, to-date, through industry, Nayak has mitigated the conditions of over 1,000,000 who suffer from poverty and starvation across Illinois and neighboring states.
Aside from his career in medicine and his humanitarian concern, Nayak is not a newcomer to Chicago’s political stage. A candidate for the Special Democratic primary for Illinois State Senate District 20, Nayak sought office as a Democrat. Though Dr. Nayak suffered a defeat, the loss provided him a moment of introspection and prompted him to switch allegiance to the Republican Party. His decision to leave the Democratic Party was not the result of political opportunism, but rather an evolution and an admission his political convictions more closely aligned with the GOP than a modern Democrat held in the inescapable clutches of the fringe-left progressives.
A passionate supporter of school choice, a secure border, and committed to protecting the rights and privacy of women and girls, Nayak is a critic of the CORE caucus’ leadership over the Chicago Teachers Union, and in favor of reducing income taxes and eliminating burdensome regulation on businesses.
It is said that elections are about the future. If we take critical stock of the performance of our current senators in Washington, D.C. — Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth — the two have clearly established records which are disappointing at best and calamitous at worst.
The time has come for change in who represents the State of Illinois in Congress. In fact, it is long overdue. One lesson learned from the 2024 election is that the political winds have shifted in Illinois. Placing a senator in office is an important decision, one that voters ought to take seriously. Based on his character and countenance, experience and achievements, judgment and political skills, governing ideas and vision, Dr. David Nayak is a welcome asset to our party as a member and a potential candidate for the U.S. Senate.
I ask voters join me in welcoming Dr. Nayak to the GOP. I also appeal to Illinois Republican voters to familiarize yourself with Nayak as he considers a bid for the Senate. Should Nayak undertake a campaign for the Senate, together we can usher in a new era of leadership for our great state.
Matt Podgorski is a life-long Republican currently living in the 41st Ward — the only Chicago Ward carried by President Donald Trump in 2024. Matt has served as Chairman of the Northwest Side GOP Club since 2016. Mr. Podgorski earns a living as Vice President of Logistics for a national beverage company.
