 | |||||||||||||||||
Illinois's 14th congressional district | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||
 County results Foster: 50–60% Oberweis: 50–60% 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
After the resignation ofRepublican PartyUnited States CongressmanDennis Hastert from hisIllinois's 14th congressional district seat in theUnited States House of Representatives on November 26, 2007,[1] aspecial election was held to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the110th United States Congress.
Illinois GovernorRod Blagojevich set the special election date for March 8, 2008. The Democratic and Republican parties held special primary elections on February 5, 2008.DemocratBill Foster won the election on March 8, 2008.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Bill Foster | 32,982 | 49.60 | |
| Democratic | John Laesch | 28,433 | 42.76 | |
| Democratic | Jotham Stein | 5,082 | 7.64 | |
| Total votes | 66,497 | 100.00 | ||
Chris Lauzen officially began his campaign on September 19, 2007.[3] Rudy Clai officially entered the race on October 7,[4] but withdrew less than a month later, citing dysfunction within theIllinois Republican Party.
The race was very competitive between Lauzen and Oberweis. On January 15, 2008, they debated atAurora University. During the debate, Oberweis raised questions regarding International Profit Associates, a company that donated $100,000 to Lauzen's campaign and was being investigated for widespread sexual harassment and fraud.[5]
TheChicago Tribune endorsed Oberweis, stating that had a better command on national issues.[6] Dennis Hastert endorsed Oberweis on December 13, and Kevin Burns subsequently withdrew his candidacy.[7] Lauzen received endorsements from theAurora Beacon News, theKane County Chronicle, theDeKalb Daily Chronicle and theChicago Daily Herald.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Jim Oberweis | 41,980 | 56.02 | |
| Republican | Chris Lauzen | 32,955 | 43.98 | |
| Total votes | 74,935 | 100.00 | ||
The race for the 14th district was marked by intense negative campaigning between the regular primary elections of February 5 and the special elections of March 8. Oberweis, with $2.3 million of his own money and an additional $1 million provided by theNational Republican Congressional Committee, attacked Foster on his various political stances.[8] Foster, with $1.8 million of his own money and an additional $1 million provided by theDemocratic Congressional Campaign Committee,[8] countered that Oberweis had employed illegal immigrants in his retail stores.[9]
Democratic presidential candidateBarack Obama appeared in a television ad for Foster that ran immediately prior to the special election.John McCain endorsed Oberweis.[10]
TheChicago Tribune endorsed Bill Foster for the seat in its March 4, 2008 edition based on Oberweis' history of "nasty, smug, condescending ... and dishonest" campaigning, and Foster's position that he would be aBlue Dog Democrat.[11] TheChicago Sun-Times endorsed Oberweis as "forceful and informed", painting Foster as "poorly informed" and unable to discuss specific issues in depth.[9]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Bill Foster | 52,205 | 52.53 | |||
| Republican | Jim Oberweis | 47,180 | 47.47 | |||
| Total votes | 99,385 | 100.00 | ||||
| Democraticgain fromRepublican | ||||||
The election of Foster over Oberweis ended a 20-year Republican streak of holding the seat. The election of Foster also brought speculation that Republicans would lose three more seats up for re-election in the November general election, resulting in a 14–5 Democratic advantage in Congress for Illinois.[13]
Observers cited several factors explaining Foster's victory, including rapid suburbanization ofKane andKendall Counties, Foster's position regarding the expansion of health-care and his support of immigration-reform, including a path to citizenship, and Lauzen's refusal to endorse Oberweis following the Republican primary. In contrast, Oberweis' campaign tactics were criticized, including the overuse of mass mailings and automated phone calls to remind voters of the special election.[13] Reporter John Fund ofThe Wall Street Journal pointed to the failure of Lauzen to endorse Oberweis, Hastert's preference for "self-funded" but unskilled candidates, and local reviews that the NRCC ads were "nasty," "stupid," "largely incomprehensible" and "factless" as additional reasons why Foster won the seat. By contrast, Fund noted that the Democratic party spent much of its funding on an ad featuring Obama touting Foster's credentials as a physicist and problem-solver.[14]
GovernorRod Blagojevich had scheduled the special election for Saturday, March 8 in an attempt to increase voter turnout. However, the election drew a low voter turnout, with only 22 percent of registered voters participating.[15][16]
Although it was initially thought that Foster would not be sworn in until April due to the need to count absentee ballots before the election would be certified, he took the oath of office on March 11.[17] On his first day in office he cast the deciding vote[18] to keep from tabling an ethics bill that would create an independent outside panel to investigate ethics complaints against House members.[19]
Foster's victory was the first time a House seat flipped parties in a special election since DemocratStephanie Herseth Sandlin won the openSouth Dakota at-large seat of RepublicanBill Janklow in June 2004.[20]
