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  It's No Longer Science Fiction In IL-14
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ContributorArmyDem 
Last EditedArmyDem  Mar 08, 2008 09:36pm
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News DateSunday, March 9, 2008 03:35:00 AM UTC0:0
DescriptionDespite the NRCC's pouring in over $1.2M to save IL-14 for a supposed self-funder, the GOP has lost Denny Hastert’s (R) seat. It’s a stunning loss for a party that’s been hit with one bad break after another after losing its majority in ’06.

With 99% reporting, scientist/businessman Bill Foster (D) defeated '02/'04 SEN candidate/'06 GOV candidate/dairy magnate Jim Oberweis (R), 52-48%.

Foster ran a very aggressive and focused general election campaign. He came out swinging just days after his primary victory, hitting Oberweis on Iraq in TV ads, and kept Oberweis off balance throughout the rest of the one-month campaign. In the final week, Foster ran an ad featuring an endorsement by homestater Barack Obama.

But as well as Foster ran his campaign, this race was mostly about Oberweis. Polling in the final weeks of the race showed Oberweis’ past had caught up with him, and his favorable ratings continued to sink. He did have John McCain in for a fundraiser and a press conference, but none of McCain’s popularity among indies appeared to have rubbed off.

Because of both of their involvements in the race, many described this contest as a proxy war between Obama and McCain. And if it was, Obama came out the big winner.

Democrats will trumpet this as a harbinger of things to come for ’08. And they may be right. Foster didn’t try to hide his Dem label at all, featuring it prominently in TV ads. He also campaigned on big issues like Iraq and health care like a liberal. Those are strategies not usually pursued in GOP-leaning CDs like Hastert’s, but they don’t appear to have hurt Foster. Could this be a sign that Reps. like Sam Graves (R-MO 06) and Tim Walberg (R-MI 07) are in trouble?
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