IL-14: Democrats Take Hastert’s Former Seat
Posted by Matt Ortega · March 8, 2008
Democrat Bill Foster defeated Republican Jim Oberweis in Saturday’s special election for former Republican House Speaker Denny Hastert’s seat. Hastert resigned from his post representing Illinois’ 14th Congressional District in late November 2007.
Saturday’s defeat was another electoral setback for Oberweis, who ran for the U.S. Senate twice and sought the Republican gubernatorial nomination, making him 0 for 4 at the ballot. Oberweis enjoyed the support of former Rep. Hastert’s political machine and the clout of Senator John McCain (R-Arizona), who headlined a fundraiser and traveled to the district to endorse him. Oberweis’ stunning defeat is a major embarrassment to McCain.
To get just how big of a victory this is for Democrats, Daily Kos sums it up quite well:
This is a red district. Former Speaker of the House Denny Hastert represented this district since 1987, winning reelection by huge margins.
This district includes the city of Dixon, which is the birthplace of Ronald Reagan.
This is a district that President Bush won twice, and in 2004 he received 56% of the vote.
The NRCC poured over $1 million here to hold onto this seat — nearly a third of its cash on hand.
John McCain actually took time from his presidential campaign to come to Illinois and hold a fundraiser for Oberweis and formally endorse him.
This was as big a victory for the immigrant community as it was for Democrats. Oberweis was very well known for his anti-immigrant stances, including “eliminating” birthright citizenship, speaking at several Minute Man meetings, and an infamous advertisement.
Rosanna Pulido, State Director of the Illinois Minuteman Project, wrote of Oberweis in 2007:
Let’s give the successful, admirable Oberweis a chance to bring success to Illinois. Oberweis has always supported the Minutemen and has shown up to our meetings when invited.
He has always shown his full support for grassroots activist who have fought illegal immigration in Illinois. Now it is time for Minutemen types to support him.
This election cycle, we are seeing that anti-immigrant rhetoric continues to lose at the ballot box, even in historically Republican areas like the Illinois 14th Congressional District. John McCain’s association with someone like Jim Oberweis will not pay off in November.
Updated 03/08/08 at 11:15pm: Whither Rep. Tom Cole (R-Clarence, N.Y.)? It has been a rough 2008 for the NRCC chairman. Between Oberweis’ defeat in the +5 Republican district, the brewing scandal at the NRCC and the lingering tinge from the Mark Foley scandal last cycle, things do not look good for the New York congressman.
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