The2010 Illinois's 17th congressional district election was held on November 2, 2010 to determine who would representIllinois's17th District in the112th United States Congress. The seat contested was located in western and parts of central Illinois.Democratic incumbentPhil Hare had held the seat since 2006 and was running for re-election. TheRepublican nominee wasBobby Schilling. TheGreen Party nominee was Roger K. Davis.[1]
Schilling won the election in an upset with almost 53% of the vote.[2]: 49
Once thought to be safe by political analysts, Hare's seat was in trouble in the summer of 2010 as Schilling made his challenge.[4]The New York Times's final rating was "Tossup",[5] as was that ofCQ Politics.[6]RealClearPolitics's final rating was "Leans Democrat".[7]FiveThirtyEight gave Schilling a 63% chance of winning.[5]Politico rated it #5 on its list of "hottest House races in the country".[8]
Though both were unopposed in their respective primaries, primary elections were still held as voters went to the polls to vote in other races. Out of 64,141 total votes cast in each party for the February 2nd Illinois primary, Hare took 32,496 votes (50.66%) to Schilling's 31,645 (49.34%).[1][9] "After the results of yesterday’s election, one thing is clear: voters are ready for a clean break from the failed ideas of the past," Schilling said after the primary. "Voter turnout shows that my Democrat opponent and I nearly had identical votes." Because of the close results,National Review said the race is "worth keeping an eye on."[10]
National organizations were heavily involved in the race, with theNational Republican Congressional Committee injecting $350,000 into the race and the conservative American Future Fund buying $500,000 worth of ads in the district, both on behalf of Schilling.[11] TheRepublican National Committee funded the opening of a "Victory Center" similar to that used for the campaign ofSen.Scott Brown in 2010.[12] On Hare's side, theDemocratic Congressional Campaign Committee bought $90,000 worth of airtime andSEIU bought $317,000 for similar commercials alleging Schilling wants to send jobs overseas, which the Schilling campaign denies.[11][13]
Schilling's campaign outraised Hare's by $51,000 in Q3 2010 and had more cash on hand than Hare as of September 30.[14][15][16]
All three candidates participated in one televised debate on October 26, which covered topics ranging fromsocial security, taxes, and job creation toabortion andstem cell research.[17]
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