Last week, Democrat Bill Foster defeated Republican Jim Oberweis in a special election to fill the Congressional seat vacated by the retiring Denny Hastert. The results:
Foster (D) 52,010 52%
Oberweis (R) 46,988 48%
Former GOP House Speaker Dennis Hastert had held this seat for 20 years. Illinois Republicans are worried about what this year's election might bring:
With the possibility of favorite-son candidate Sen. Barack Obama becoming the Democratic presidential nominee, Republicans acknowledge a potentially bleak scenario for Illinois' 2008 congressional elections, in which Democrats could pick up four of the nine seats held by Republicans entering this year.Some Republicans predict an Obama-led ticket could help Foster win his rematch in the far west suburban 14th District, with Democrats also capturing the south suburban 11th District being vacated by the retiring GOP Rep. Jerry Weller.
An Obama-led ticket also could put strong pressure on the west suburban Republican 6th Congressional District seat narrowly won by Rep. Peter Roskam two years ago, as well as the North Shore 10th District that Rep. Mark Kirk held in an uncomfortably close 2006 contest.
"There's just going to be a tidal wave if Barack is on the ballot," one longtime state Republican official said. "There are going to be people coming out of the woodwork, and they're going to vote Democratic."
It's also interesting to note that Obama appeared in a TV ad for Foster while McCain did the same for Oberweis. Could these results portend an Obama "coattails" effect? That's certainly what a lot of swing state Senators and swing district Congressmen think and that's why they are lining up behind Obama. Anyone who seriously argues that the Democratic ticket will be stronger with Hillary Clinton at the top just isn't paying attention.
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Congressional Races
Tags: Bill Foster, congressional race, Denny Hastert, Illinois, Jim Oberweis
Comments (4)
Bill Foster rules. I'm not... (Below threshold)1. Posted by mantis | March 11, 2008 3:47 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Bill Foster rules. I'm not even worried about him being a shill for Big Physics.
There might be something to the Obama coattails theory, but probably more because he's so popular here in Illinois, and that doesn't necessarily translate nationwide. However, winning in such a conservative district against a well-known candidate is remarkable. The once largely-rural district has become very suburbanized since Hastert was first elected.
Oberweis, on the other hand, has had his ass handed to him four times now in the past six years. He ran for both of the IL Senate seats, the governorship, and now the House, paying for much of those campaigns with his dairy money. The Republicans are stuck with the jackass in November too!
A lesson here also. The Republican primary for this seat was pretty nasty, so much so that Lauzen, who lost to Oberweis, refused to endorse him. All the nastiness on the Republican side may have pushed people towards Foster. Beware the effect of a nasty primary contest....
1. Posted by mantis | March 11, 2008 3:47 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on March 11, 2008 15:47
2. Posted by Jim Addison | March 11, 2008 4:25 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Undoubtedly the rough primary had its effect. Before a lot of panic/celebration sets in, though, note that the total vote was less than half that cast in the 2006 midterm in the district.
2. Posted by Jim Addison | March 11, 2008 4:25 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on March 11, 2008 16:25
3. Posted by Jayemay | March 11, 2008 6:14 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Definately something to the low turnout. I live in a neighboring district, and was therefore well aware of the fact that there was a special election. However, as politically-minded as I am, I didn't know it was on Saturday, until I heard the result Sunday afternoon.
3. Posted by Jayemay | March 11, 2008 6:14 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on March 11, 2008 18:14
4. Posted by mantis | March 14, 2008 1:11 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Foster's awesomeness knows no bounds.
4. Posted by mantis | March 14, 2008 1:11 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on March 14, 2008 13:11