first of all, congratulations to bill foster, our newest member of congress. it will be kind of weird calling him congressman. and congratulations to his staff and all the volunteers who helped elect foster. what a tremendous achievement!
foster's election is vindication of all those who believed that a serious democratic candidate with a great campaign organization could turn il-14 blue. and now we have! it is also vindication for the plan that bill and tom put together, and especially the networking they did to create a solid pool of campaign workers who went out and delivered the vote for foster. this should serve as both proof of what a good campaign can do and an example for the local democratic parties and their future candidates.
it's probably too early to really dissect how bill foster won denny hastert's open seat but we can put some things into context.
Foster won the majority of counties (wins in bold):
City of Aurora: 65% to 35% Bureau: 47% to 53%
Henry County: 38% to 62%
DeKalb: 56% to 44%
DuPage County: 50.6% to 49.4%
Kane County: 51% to 49%
Kendall: 50.3% to 49.7% Lee: 44% to 56%
Whiteside: 55% to 45%
Final Result: 568 of 568 Precincts Reporting - 100%
Bill Foster (D): 53% (52,010) Jim Oberweis (R): 47% (46,988)
Foster's party entrance befitted the stunning win over perennial GOP bridesmaid Jim Oberweis. He topped Oberweis by just more than 5,000 votes, unofficially, across the 14th Congressional District to fill the remainder of retired Rep. Dennis Hastert's term.
"Back in the lab, this is something we'd call a pretty successful experiment," Foster deadpanned to start a 14-minute victory speech.
[...]
Surrounded by his two children, ex-wife and Democratic leaders ranging from Kane County Democratic Party Chairman Mark Guethle to U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, Foster renewed his pledges to provide health care to all and work to change direction in Iraq.
Foster also received a congratulatory call from Illinois' other U.S. senator, Barack Obama, who has made "change" the theme of his presidential campaign.
"Change started right here in the 14th District," Durbin told the crowd, then credited Foster for withstanding a million-dollar barrage of negative ads from Oberweis.
Change is the theme indeed! So now lets see just how long Mr. Obama's coattails actual are and get the race for the nomination over.
Before I hot the doors for the evening, I thought I'd stop in and report what's happening out here in IL-14.
There's tons of people out from within the state and from across the country. Several "super volunteers" who volunteered with Bill in Pennsylvania hopped planes out to Aurora and are pounding the pavement with the rest of us.
The scientist and engineer activists are out in full effect, including current and former Fermilab scientists and support staff and academic colleagues of Bill's. There are several people here from around the country who went to grad school with Bill and are incredibly excited about his campaign.
Labor is on board with folks from IUPAT, SEIU, AFSCME, IBEW, and Letter Carriers everywhere. The Letter Carriers local in Aurora is one of the most militant unions I've had the pleasure to know and work with! You've got to love militant mailmen and women who want to see a change in their government.
The Seals campaign has sent a bunch of people and the Harper campaign, too. Even Jill Morgenthaler running in IL-06 sent people! Obama's Illinois organization is on board, too. In fact, I received a call from Obama's Chicago headquarters this morning asking me to volunteer! The woman on the other end of the line was pretty heartened to hear that I was already here!
I said "sort of" liveblogging because I'm not sure when I'll be back.
The turf is all cut for tomorrow and we're ready to go! And the best part?
There's no sign of Oberweis' people on the street ANYWHERE!
every democratic activist in the country has the same question today: can bill foster steal a long-time -- and once thought permanent -- republican congressional seat for democrats?
the answer is up to us.
this morning, national public radio has a segment about the race on morning edition. charlie cook (PDF) changed his rating of this race from leans republican to toss-up. the rothenberg political report did the same:
i returned to illinois (believe me, i wanted to say florida -- is it spring yet?) to find this email:
Why are Republicans spending a million dollars to help Oberweis? I don't understand. Oberweis has lots of money and Congressional Republicans don't.
jonathan singer of mydd writes, NRCC Blows Nearly One Third of its CoH on IL-14 Special Election. but there's a very good reason why congressional republicans are betting the farm on this special election. the core of republican campaign doctrine is winning special elections and leveraging those wins into bigger wins in the general. that's what they are trying to do here.
voters in il-14 are uniquely in the position to either send republicans packing in 2008 or give them a win that can lead to the election of john mccain and more republicans in november. now that's power.
I will be working on Bill Foster's race full-time starting tomorrow (Wednesday) until the election. I'm totally excited to help out! Who else is going?
My friend from Ohio is coming out, too.
Post here if you're planning on helping so I'll know to look for you!
A couple weeks ago I told you about lifelong Republican and retired Air Force vet Col. Don Cassiday endorsing Bill Foster for Congress in Denny Hastert's vacated seat. Cassiday described himself as a "retired Republican" and has now gotten together with others who are calling themselves "Republicans for Foster."
Republicans for Foster eschewed party allegiances to support Foster because they see him as possessing the experience, background, and roots in thecommunity to represent 14th residents of all political stripes. Foster -- a Democrat -- joined the group of Republicans today [3/1] at Elgin Community College...Members of Republicans for Foster include William Bangs, Chuck Brown, Cassiday, Ed Fauth, Frances Fauth, Jill Hansen, Dave Johnson, Walter Joy, Bernadine Murphy, and Jim Volk. The special election to fill the seat vacated by former Republican Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert is next Saturday, March 8.
This comes straight from the Bill Foster campaign. They are saying that one of Jim Oberweis' TV ads was pulled out of WGN and WMAQ lineups for breaking Federal Communication Commission (FCC) rules.
The ad in question contains multiple failures to comply with disclaimer requirements, representing an attempt on the part of Oberweis to evade responsibility for the allegations levied against Mr. Foster contained in the ad.
Politically incorrect possible translation: "He lied like a rug and got caught." Remember, this is the guy who used fake headlines in a TV ad against Judy Baar Topinka during the 2006 primary season. I am having a hard time seeing why anybody would want to send such a person to Congress.
Looks like Jim Oberweis may be in trouble with the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) for violating a part of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act known as the Millionaires' Amendment.
The provisions of the Millionaires' Amendment may, in certain circumstances, increase the contribution limits for House and Senate candidates facing opponents who spend personal funds in excess of certain threshold amounts. The threshold amounts and the triggers for increased limits for House and Senate candidates differ. For House candidates, the threshold amount is $350,000.
Whether contribution limits are actually increased depends on the pattern of campaign spending in a particular election cycle. What's not in dispute is that as soon as the candidate puts $350,000 into his/her campaign s/he is obligated to notify within 24 hours both the FEC and the opposition candidate.
The FEC has penalized Oberweis once before. Last year he was fined $21,000 for a television ad played during the 2004 Senate race that was ruled to be a corporate contribution prohibited by law.
bill foster's campaign triumphantly released a new poll today:
Our new tracking survey of likely special election voters in Illinois' 14th Congressional District continues to show a very tight race to replace Dennis Hastert, but Bill Foster has now taken the lead. Foster leads Republican Jim Oberweis by 4 points, 45%-41%. The closeness of the race is highlighted by the generic ballot preference in the district, as 42% prefer a generic Democrat, and 41% prefer a generic Republican.
McCain is scheduled to appear next Wednesday night on Oberweis' behalf at Rich Harvest Farms, a private golf course in Sugar Grove. Oberweis campaign spokesman Bill Pascoe said the appearance will give Oberweis a boost with independents and an infusion of cash right before the March 8 special election to serve out Hastert's term.
...
Tickets for McCain event will range from $1,000 to $2,300 and organizers said they hope to collect $200,000.
Not that I'm doing too badly but this is just a bit rich for my blood. What is hilarious is thinking they might be serving finger food at these prices--or is that a security measure unique to Cheney's appearances?
Meanwhile, the Foster campaign is offering a "blue plate special" over at ActBlue. The goal is $5 each from 1,000 people. I went back for seconds and hope you will, too.
there are two dominant wedge issues that democrats can exploit at this moment: bush's reckless invasion or iraq and his reckless leadership of the economy. both of these issues peel republicans and independents away from gop candidates -- especially a republican as extreme as jim oberweis.
the appeal of the first wedge issue can be seen today, where the bill foster campaign announced:
Citing the need to change away from a policy of staying 10 more years in Iraq, lifelong Republican Don Cassiday today endorsed scientist and businessman Bill Foster at a press conference at Foster's Aurora campaign office.
Chris "Star of Romania" Lauzen is down and out and with any luck he'll take some of the Christo-Cop vote with him. But what of Jim Oberweis? What can we expect? What's his message? Where is he weak?
bill foster opens up the special election campaign with a sharp broadside at the ice cream man over iraq. foster began his campaign saying that his top three issues were iraq, iraq and iraq and he's making getting out of iraq central to his campaign for congress.
Chris Lauzen brags in his campaign literature about all of the times he was the lone dissenting voice in a full Senate vote. Since he seems to have an almost unique talent for getting both political parties to bury their differences in order to oppose him, could Lauzen be the man we need to send to Washington in order to bring bi-partisanship back into the House?
Aurora, IL - U.S. Army Veteran and Aurora State Representative Linda Chapa LaVia expressed outrage today at Jim Oberweis' callous refusal to acknowledge Iraq as an important issue to voters in the 14th District.
In a news report yesterday, Oberweis' spokesman explained why Oberweis' campaign website didn't mention the Iraq War, calling it "not an issue that comes up frequently on the campaign trail." [Associated Press, 1/14/08]
"Jim Oberweis' dismissal of the Iraq war is an insult to the voters of Illinois. The next Representative from the 14th congressional district will have to confront our policy in Iraq, not run from the issue," Representative Chapa LaVia said. "As Vice-Chair of the Veterans Affairs Committee and the only female Veteran in the Illinois General Assembly, I hear from people all across Illinois on this matter and residents of the 14th are some of the loudest and clearest on the need for an exit strategy."
Last week, Oberweis' campaign did not return phone requests from the Daily Herald, seeking expanded comments on the Iraq War.
"Since Jim Oberweis has referred to staying in Iraq for 10 years as 'the right approach,' I'm not surprised that he doesn't want to discuss the issue," Chapa LaVia said. "The people of the 14th District want a change in strategy, and to bring our troops home. Jim Oberweis' plan to continue the same failed Bush policies does not represent the change voters want."
Former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert has left Congress and failed to finish this two year commitment to the people of Illinois 14th Congressional District, but that has not stopped him in continuing his commitment to the Republican Party.
Dennis Hastert is running unopposed for precinct committeeman for Little Rock Precinct No. 8.
Shortly after submitting his resignation last month after serving 21 years as the 14th District's congressman, the former speaker of the U.S. House signed up to run for a third term in the office of Republican precinct committeeman for Little Rock Precinct No. 8.
Money is a big issue in the 14th Congressional race - but too many people are confusing the issue. Let's get some basics out of the way:
I believe in public financing of elections - but I don't believe in unilateral disarmament.
Leading Republican Jim Oberweis has said he will spend as much as $2.5 million of his own money for the primary and another $2.5 million for the general election - and experience suggests he could do that or more.
Leading Republican Chris Lauzen has already loaned his campaign $325,000 - and had $525,000 cash on hand in his third quarter FEC report.
Now, let me tell you about a Democratic candidate who is running in the 14th congressional district.
Let's look at what the IL-14 campaigns are doing today.
Chris Lauzen is busy positioning himself as Denny Hastert's heir. The article at the link, from November 19, crows about Lauzen's being "unbossable" by GOP moderate Gov. Jim Edgar. The author cannot spell Jim Oberweis' name.
Jotham Stein's campaign is generating "time for a change" press releases while Jim Oberweis is calling on the governor to schedule the special primary for the same day as the regular primary to save the taxpayers some money. No word yet on how he's going to crimp the huge straw that stretches from the U.S. Treasury to Iraq. Meanwhile, DeKalb County passed its FY2008 budget on November 21. It will have to dig up another $50,000+ somewhere for that third election.John Laesch's supporters can be found at DKos.
I do not know election law or why it is that the ballot petitions originally intended for a regular primary cannot stand for a special primary on the same date with the same candidates.
I do know that any person I can dig up to sign new petitions will understand beyond any doubt whom it is they must thank for this duplication of effort and added expense.
