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  [IL-14] Foggy Window to November in Race to Replace Ex-Speaker
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ContributorArmyDem 
Last EditedArmyDem  Mar 07, 2008 03:35pm
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MediaNewspaper - New York Times
News DateFriday, March 7, 2008 09:35:00 PM UTC0:0
DescriptionBy CARL HULSE
Published: March 7, 2008

Special House elections are not especially popular with Congressional political operatives.

The races — which occur when lawmakers die in office, receive appointment to another post, get an irresistible job offer, get fed up or, occasionally, get sent to jail — offer unique circumstances. By their nature, they are abbreviated, making them unpredictable and problematic. The incumbent is not on the ballot, handing the opposition an unexpected opening. They consume money, time and other resources and often have to be waged again in just a few months, when the regular election rolls around.

And since they are usually conducted in isolation, they can take on outsized importance, as the two parties and the political world mine them for trends, party momentum and the effectiveness of campaign tactics and messages. That was the situation back in mid- 2006 when former Representative Duke Cunningham, a Republican, went to jail and all eyes were on the special in his San Diego district, which Republicans won and have held since.

House Republicans now find themselves in a similar situation with Saturday’s special election in the 14th District of Illinois — the seat easily held for two decades by former Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, who left Congress at the end of last year after Republicans lost the majority the previous November.
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