GILBERTS – The race for the Illinois State Senate seat from the newly created 33rd District has become a little more competitive.

Chad Koppie, a farmer and former airline pilot and former candidate for Illinois governor and U.S. Senate, has declared his candidacy for the open seat.

Koppie, of Gilberts, becomes the third Republican candidate to run for the seat.

He will compete in next year's Republican primary election against Kane County Board Chairman Karen McConnaughay and businessman and former Gilberts village trustee Cliff Surges.

Koppie said he will run as "the conservative" in the race.

"I was Tea Party before there was a Tea Party," Koppie said.

He said he believes his opponents are too "centralized" to make the decisions that need to be made to fix the state's financial problems.

He said he believes the state of Illinois should trim its budget by 3 percent annually until the state budget is balanced.

"I will propose legislation to take all spending down," Koppie said. "We're billions of dollars in the hole, and we can't find the money to pay the bills.

"This is not a joke, as far as what needs to be done."

Koppie also said he is "pro-life" and "pro-2nd Amendment."

The 33rd Senate District was created in the newly approved legislative district maps. The district, which is not now represented in Springfield, runs from western Batavia through western Geneva and St. Charles to include much of the northern portions of Kane County, including the communities of Sleepy Hollow, West Dundee, Gilberts and Hampshire.