Politico reports:

Rep. Adam Kinzinger is sticking around next Congress — and the Illinois Republican isn’t done sticking it to Donald Trump.

Kinzinger, fresh off a re-election victory in his conservative district nestled between Chicago and Peoria, has been dialing up his criticism of the president since Nov. 3. The 42-year-old lawmaker has long pushed back on Trump’s foreign policy moves. But with most of the Republican party still paralyzed by Trump’s brazen attempts to overturn the election, Kinzinger is staking his ground in the post-Trump GOP.

“We have two different directions to go as Republicans,” Kinzinger said in an interview. “And I’m on the direction of, let’s get back to our roots and explain what conservatism is, so we can actually win the generation we’re gonna need to stay relevant.”

His high-profile rebukes of Trump have left some in Washington wondering about Kinzinger’s political future. Kinzinger, an Air Force veteran who has served in Congress for a decade, could have opportunities to run statewide in 2022. That’s when both Sen. Tammy Duckworth and Gov. J.B. Pritzker — both Democrats — are up for reelection. And Kinzinger’s public criticism of Trump certainly couldn’t hurt a general election bid in a blue state like Illinois. [Continue reading…]