Man, the Republicans can't even hold on to their former House Speaker's seat. Bad sign for November. Foster takes seat from GOP Democrat to succeed Hastert in Republican stronghold By James Kimberly TRIBUNE REPORTER March 9, 2008 In a stunning upset Saturday that could be a sign of trouble for Republicans this fall, a little-known Democratic physicist won the special election for a far west suburban congressional seat long held by former GOP House Speaker Dennis Hastert. Rookie candidate Bill Foster scored a comfortable victory over Republican dairyman Jim Oberweis, who lost his fourth high-profile contest in six years, after an expensive and highly negative contest. Foster had 53 percent to Oberweis' 47 percent with all of the unofficial vote counted. "Back in the laboratory, this is what we'd say was a pretty successful experiment," Foster told about 200 supporters at an Aurora banquet hall. "I will be your voice in Congress to make change happen." The win means Foster will serve out the rest of Hastert's term, a likely advantage as he faces a rematch with Oberweis in the November general election for a full two years serving the 14th Congressional District. The result also could be an omen for November, when two other Illinois congressional seats are up for grabs following Republican retirements, and Sen. Barack Obama could bring out a huge turnout if he's the Democratic presidential nominee. "It tells me that voters are ready for a change. They want new leadership in Washington," said Sen. Dick Durbin. Gov. Rod Blagojevich scheduled the special election on Saturday as an experiment to see whether it would increase voter participation. But turnout was low, with barely more than one in five of registered voters making it to the polls. Foster won a majority of the vote in DeKalb County and 65 percent of the vote in Aurora, a traditional Democratic stronghold. Foster even narrowly downed Oberweis, 61, of Sugar Grove in previously Republican territory of Kane, Kendall and DuPage Counties to secure the win. Oberweis has now spent nearly $9 million of his own money on six elections the last six years and still does not hold elected office. The investment manager is better known for his family's home-delivered milk and ice cream shops but could not translate that profile to victory. "I am disappointed we've come out second," said Oberweis, who then thanked his wife, Julie, and had the crowd sing "Happy Birthday" to her. "We've made some great friends and we're going to have another run in about seven months." As the winner, Foster is set to enjoy some advantages as the sitting congressman: staffers to perform constituent service, the ability to send mail paid for by the public and easier access to campaign contributions. The downside? He also will spend the spring and summer voting on potentially controversial bills, giving his opponent ammunition for the fall, when the cycle of negative TV ads and big money could begin anew. Foster's victory followed a short, nasty campaign dominated by TV attack ads. All told, the two candidates and their respective parties and interest groups dumped $6 million into the contest. The candidates began hammering each other immediately after winning the special primary Feb. 5. Immigration, Social Security, health care and taxes were key issues, with each side accusing the other of gross distortions. Oberweis campaigned on familiar themes, promising to combat illegal immigration and fight for lower taxes and less government. Foster campaigned on this year's election refrain of change, promising to vote to remove U.S. troops from Iraq, support universal health care and target tax breaks to the middle class. Foster painted Oberweis as a supporter of President Bush. Nationally, the race also was considered by some to be a proxy fight between Republican presidential nominee John McCain, who endorsed Oberweis, and Democratic presidential front-runner Obama, who cut a TV ad for Foster -- a characterization eschewed by both national parties. Obama called Foster to offer his congratulations late Saturday. "By electing him to a traditionally Republican seat -- a seat that former Speaker Dennis Hastert held for 20 years -- the people of Illinois have sent an unmistakable message that they're tired of business-as-usual in Washington," Obama said in a statement. The 14th District historically has been very Republican, re-electing Hastert with 60 percent of the vote in 2006 and giving President Bush 55 percent of the vote in 2004. Foster's victory is further evidence of the changing suburban landscape. The heart of the district is made up of fast-growing communities where farmland has given way to subdivisions and new residents don't necessarily have familiarity with local politics. The territory is just the latest suburban Chicago district that's gone from reliably Republican to potential toss-up. To the north, Democrat Melissa Bean of Barrington unseated Republican veteran Phil Crane in 2004 and fended off a well-funded challenger two years ago. Along the lake, four-term Republican Rep. Mark Kirk of Highland Park has been stockpiling campaign cash for a rematch against Dan Seals, who came surprisingly close in 2006. Oberweis lent his campaign $2.3 million and Foster $1.8 million. Both national parties spent more than $1 million each. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-special-election.09mar09,1,6389579,print.story
First DeLay's seat and now Hastert's... don't think members of the GOP in Congress aren't seeing this **** and freakin' out. They are. BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! Impeach Bush. Feed him to the Ducks.
