Rich Brauer is a Republican member of the Illinois House of Representatives, representing the 87th district since 2003. A native of Petersburg, IL, Brauer upset incumbent Gwen Klingler in the 2002 Republican primary, after re-districting resulted in rural areas outside of Springfield being in his district. During the 2008 Republican Party presidential primaries, Brauer ran to be a delegate to the 2008 Republican National Convention from Illinois's 18th congressional district for the presidential campaign of former Governor Mitt Romney.