Candidate · November 3, 2026

Mike Bost

On the ballot for U.S. House · Illinois's 12th District

RepublicanIncumbent
raised through Oct 14, 2026
$1.6M
cash on hand
$845K
issues with public statements
12
outside spending for or against
$4,758

§1On the ballot

Why this matters: This is exactly how the candidate appears on your ballot, from the state's official candidate list.

OfficeU.S. House · Illinois's 12th District1
Party on the ballotRepublican1
StatusIncumbent — Currently represents Illinois's 12th District in the U.S. House.2
Also on the ballot

§2Who they are

Why this matters: Background and experience help you judge how someone might do the job. These come from public records and the candidate's own materials.

Drafted by AI from the public sources cited. Each sentence links to its source.

Mike Bost served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1979 to 1982 as an electronic specialist and radar repairman and received an honorable discharge as a corporal.3,4 He worked for 13 years at Bost Trucking Service, first as a driver and then as a truck manager, and served as a firefighter for the Murphysboro Fire Department.3,4 He served on the Jackson County Board, as treasurer of the City of Murphysboro and as a Murphysboro Township trustee, and then for two decades in the Illinois House of Representatives.3,4 He was sworn into the U.S. House on January 6, 2015, and his official biography says he chairs the House Veterans' Affairs Committee and also serves on the Transportation and Infrastructure and Agriculture Committees.3 He graduated from Murphysboro High School in 1979 and from the University of Illinois' Certified Firefighter II Academy in 1993.3

Why they say they're running

His campaign website says he is running because he wants a better, brighter and more secure future for children and grandchildren, and describes him as a constitutional conservative voice for the people of Southern Illinois.4

Service in Congress since 2023

  • 2025–nowU.S. Representative, IL-122
  • 2023–2025U.S. Representative, IL-122

Websites and accounts

§3What they've said on the issues

Why this matters: These are positions the candidate has stated publicly — on their campaign website or in public statements — summarized in plain words with a link to where they said it. Issues they haven't spoken about publicly are left out.

Drafted by AI from the public sources cited. Each sentence links to its source.

Each issue has its own range of views. A position is marked on that range only when the candidate's own statement clearly matches one option; there is no overall left–right score.

Taxes and Budget

Federal income tax rates

His campaign website says he voted for tax reform legislation that, it says, gives an average tax cut of over $2,200 to Southern Illinois families.8

Federal spending levels

His campaign website says federal spending is out of control, with growing deficits that burden future generations, and that Congress must make decisions that balance the federal budget in a reasonable, responsible way.8

Economy, Jobs and Trade

Trade agreements

His campaign website says he supports President Trump's trade deals to protect the economy and American workers.8

Health Care

Health insurance system

His campaign website says Southern Illinoisans should have the right to make their own health care choices, and that he supports allowing businesses and associations to pool their health plans to obtain larger premium discounts from insurers.8

Social Security and Medicare

Medicare Advantage

His campaign website says he wants to encourage more competition in Medicare by expanding, not shrinking, the Medicare Advantage program.8

  1. Expand Medicare Advantage and encourage more private plan options
  2. Keep current rules
  3. Tighten rules on what these plans are paid and when they can require approval for care
Marked: the option their statement matches.
Social Security retirement age

His campaign website says he opposes efforts to raise the retirement age.8

  1. Raise the full retirement age
  2. Keep it at 67
Marked: the option their statement matches.
Social Security payroll tax cap

His campaign website says he opposes efforts to privatize Social Security and Medicare, raise the retirement age or increase the payroll tax.8

Abortion and Reproductive Health

Abortion law

His campaign website says he is pro-life and believes that life begins at conception.8

Foreign Policy and Defense

Military spending

His campaign website says he is a strong supporter of a robust defense budget and wants to ensure the military is the best-trained and most advanced in the world.8

Immigration

Border wall and barriers

His campaign website says he supports building a wall along the southern border.8

  1. Build walls or fencing along much more of the border
  2. Add barriers only in selected places, relying mainly on technology and agents
  3. Build no new barriers and spend the money on other border security
Marked: the option their statement matches.
Asylum rules

His campaign website says he supports enforcing President Trump's Remain in Mexico policy.8

Technology, Privacy and AI

High-speed internet access

His campaign website says he voted to make major investments in rural broadband that would benefit under-served areas like Southern Illinois.8

§4Popular bills that never got a vote

Why this matters: Many bills with wide support from both parties never reach a vote, so no member of Congress is ever on record for or against them. Signing on as a sponsor or cosponsor is the only public record of support.

While Mike Bost served, these bills had broad support from both parties but never reached a floor vote. No officeholder ever had to vote on them. Mike Bost sponsored or cosponsored 33 of the 52. How bills die without a vote.

See all 52

§5Money

Why this matters: Campaigns report where their money comes from and how much they have left. Outside groups that spend on their own, without coordinating with the campaign, report that too.

Reported to the Federal Election Commission for the 2025–2026 election cycle, through October 14, 2026.61

Raised$1,617,353
Spent$1,124,840
Cash on hand$844,809

Where the money came from

Individual donors$578K · 36%
PACs and other political committees$1.0M · 64%
Political party committees$500 · 0%
Other receipts (other loans, refunds, interest)$3,389 · 0%

Outside spending

Groups spending independently reported $4,758 supporting and $0 opposing Mike Bost this cycle, primary and general combined, in the 24- and 48-hour reports the law requires for larger expenditures, filed through October 16, 2026.62

Largest independent spenders, as named in their FEC filings.
GroupSupportingOpposing
ILLINOIS AGRICULTURAL ASSOCIATION ACTIVATOR POLITICAL INVOLVEMENT FUND (FED) 'ACTIVATOR'/'ILLINOIS F$4,758—

Smaller expenditures that appear only on a group's regular monthly or quarterly report aren't in these totals, so the full amounts can be somewhat higher. When a group amends a report, only its latest version is counted.

§6Financial disclosures

Why this matters: Federal candidates and members of Congress must report their assets, income, debts and outside jobs, and members must report stock trades. These filings show possible conflicts of interest.