At least three GOP House incumbents lost their seats in Illinois tonight, according to Associated Press projections.
Here is a roundup of the competitive Illinois House seats as of late tonight:
Illinois’ 8th
Veteran Tammy Duckworth (D) defeated Rep. Joe Walsh (R).
Illinois’ 11th
Former Rep. Bill Foster (D) over Rep. Judy Biggert (R).
Illinois’ 12th
Retired Army Maj. Gen. Bill Enyart (D) defeated businessman Jason Plummer (R).
Illinois’ 17th
Former East Moline Alderwoman Cheri Bustos (D) defeated Rep. Bobby Schilling (R).
The only outstanding competitive Illinois race is for the 10th district. Almost 99 percent of precincts were reporting, but it was too close for the AP to call. Democrat Brad Schneider is challenging Rep. Robert Dold (R). Schneider was up by 1 point as this was posted.
The race for the 13th district between Rodney Davis (R) and David Gill (D) was also too close to call.
Rep. Jan Schakowsky campaigns with Democratic House hopefuls Tammy Duckworth and Brad Schneider at Harmony Park in Arlington Heights, Ill. (Shira Toeplitz/CQ Roll Call)
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. — Democratic hopes of winning the House majority have been quashed, but in this northern Chicago suburb’s crowded village hall on a Saturday morning, one can see the glimmer of what might have been.
At this single location, early voters wait an hour to cast ballots in one of three redrawn Congressional districts. The hall serves as a symbol of the extent to which Democrats redrew the lines of the state’s map to their advantage.
Throughout the cycle, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Steve Israel (N.Y.) repeated these words: “The road to the majority runs through Illinois.” But less than week before Election Day, it’s clear that Democrats won’t net the 25 seats needed to regain the Speaker’s gavel, and it’s equally clear they won’t make as many gains in Illinois as they had hoped. Full story
The Democratic House Majority PAC will launch three new ads today, giving a final boost to two Democratic Congressmen and a candidate running in an open seat.
The first spot is in Illinois’ open 12th district, represented by retiring Democratic Rep. Jerry Costello. It highlights the contrast between the Republican nominee, businessman Jason Plummer, and the Democratic nominee, retired Maj. Gen. William Enyart. The ad, backed by $125,000 from today through Nov. 6 on broadcast television in the Paducah, Ky., media market, paints Plummer as someone who “praises” a plan that would “end Medicare.”
The second spot is in Massachusetts’ 6th district, where eight-term Democratic Rep. John Tierney faces an uphill battle against former state Sen. Richard Tisei (R). The ad attempts to tie Tisei to the tea party as well as the Medicare changes in the budget of Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.). The spot is backed by about $320,000 on broadcast television in the Boston media market over a week beginning today.
The third spot is in New York’s 1st district, where Rep. Tim Bishop (D) faces a rematch with businessman Randy Altschuler (R). The ad hammers on Altschuler’s outsourcing business. The spot begins today and is backed by $500,000 on targeted cable in the expensive New York City media market.
The independent expenditure arm of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee today made a new round of television ad buys in seven districts, including two New York seats where the DCCC has not previously purchased air time.
With three weeks to go before Election Day, the DCCC and the National Republican Congressional Committee have been shifting money away from races that appear less competitive and toward ones that now pop a little brighter on the committees’ radars.
According to a Democratic source with knowledge of the buys, the DCCC has placed new advertising dollars on broadcast TV in the following districts: Full story
The juggernaut GOP-affiliated group Crossroads GPS will soon announce a massive $8.1 million television and radio effort for House Republicans slated to begin Saturday and run for three weeks.
The group will target races in 11 districts from the West Coast to the central plains to just north of New York City.
The targeted seats are:
California’s new 21st district, where state Assemblyman David Valadao (R) faces Central California Hispanic Chamber of Commerce CEO John Hernandez (D)
Illinois’ open 12th district, where retired businessman Jason Plummer (R) faces retired Maj. Gen. Bill Enyart (D)
Illinois’ 17th district, where Rep. Bobby Schilling (R) faces former East Moline Alderwoman Cheri Bustos (D)
Indiana’s open 2nd district, where former state Rep. Jackie Walorski (R) faces Iraq War veteran Brendan Mullen (D)
Iowa’s 3rd district, where Rep. Leonard Boswell (D) faces Rep. Tom Latham (R)
Iowa’s 4th district, where Rep. Steve King (R) faces former Iowa first lady Christie Vilsack (D)
Michigan’s 1st district, where Rep. Dan Benishek (D) faces former state Rep. Gary McDowell (D)
Nevada’s new 4th district, where businessman Danny Tarkanian (R) faces state Sen. Steven Horsford (D)
New York’s 1st district where Rep. Tim Bishop (D) faces businessman Randy Altschuler (R)
New York’s 18th district, where Rep. Nan Hayworth (R) faces attorney Sean Patrick Maloney (D)
New York’s 25th district, where Rep. Louise Slaughter (D) faces Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks (R)
The National Republican Congressional Committee and other GOP-aligned outside groups launched a new round of television advertising over the weekend in a bevy of House races.
With seven weeks to go until Election Day, the NRCC on Sunday released 10 new TV ads — six in districts the group is working to hold and four in districts the GOP hopes to pick up. Democrats must score a net gain of 25 seats in November to wrestle back control of the House majority. Full story
A new poll from businessman Jason Plummer’s campaign shows the GOP nominee leading by double digits in the open 12th district.
Plummer had 45 percent and retired Maj. Gen. William Enyart (D) received 28 percent in the Public Opinion Strategies poll.
The retirement of Rep. Jerry Costello (D-Ill.) created an open-seat race in this downstate district. It’s a competitive race, and Roll Call rates it as a Tossup. Full story
Just how confident is Iraq War veteran Tammy Duckworth (D) that she will defeat Rep. Joe Walsh (R)? She’s fundraising — for another candidate.
Duckworth penned a campaign plea for retired Maj. Gen. William Enyart, the new Democratic nominee in the 12th district. Local Democrats selected Enyart after their original nominee dropped out of the race in May for health reasons.
In an email from VoteVets.org, Duckworth thanked her supporters and donors before making the pitch for her “personal friend.” Full story
Every Democratic nominee running in a competitive Illinois House district was invited to participate in a party-organized fundraiser held Friday at Chicago’s Wrigley Field — except for emergency room physician David Gill.
Gill’s exclusion from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee event signals that House Democrats have yet to commit to putting resources behind his bid for the open 13th district.
The DCCC listed five candidates on the invitation to the high-dollar fundraiser, which was headlined by Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.), whose district includes Wrigley Field. Among the nominees invited were Iraq War veteran Tammy Duckworth, former Rep. Bill Foster, businessman Brad Schneider, former East Moline Alderwoman Cheri Bustos and retired Major General Bill Enyart. Democrats view the House districts where these candidates are running as some of their best pickup opportunities for November.
The fundraiser comes as Gill’s GOP opponent, Rodney Davis, announced that he raised $440,000 in six weeks. Local Republican officials selected Davis as their party’s nominee after Rep. Timothy Johnson (R) suddenly retired less than a month after winning the primary.
Democrats selected retired Maj. Gen. Bill Enyart today to be their new nominee for Congress in Illinois’ 12th district.
“Maj. Gen. Bill Enyart has devoted his entire life to Southern Illinois values of service, hard work and integrity,” Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Steve Israel (N.Y.) said. ”As the new Democratic nominee, he brings the experience and deep commitment to family, community and the Southern Illinois way of life.”
Democrats were forced to find a new candidate after their nominee dropped out of the race after the primary, citing health reasons. Local party officials, including retiring Rep. Jerry Costello, solicited applications for a replacement nominee. Full story
Retired Army National Guard Maj. Gen. William Enyart has jumped into the race for retiring Rep. Jerry Costello’s (D-Ill.) seat, giving Democrats a much-needed boost in their search for a candidate for this competitive race.
“Today I am proud to rise to the challenge before us and heed the call to serve by fighting for good jobs and a responsible way to reduce the deficit to build a strong middle class and protect the Southern Illinois way of life,” Enyart said in a statement released Tuesday evening.
Illinois Democrats this weekend set up their process to select a new nominee in the open 12th district seat. Meanwhile, at least one more potential candidate emerged.
William Enyart, the adjutant general of the Illinois National Guard, is the newest name to express an interest in running for retiring Rep. Jerry Costello’s (D) seat.
Democrats were forced to fill a vacancy on the ballot after their nominee unexpectedly dropped out of the race for health reasons. Local county party leaders will pick a replacement candidate in the coming weeks to face businessman Jason Plummer, the GOP nominee. Full story
Southern Illinois Democrats started their search for a new nominee in the 12th district today after their elected candidate dropped off the ballot for health reasons this week.
Potential candidates include Madison County Circuit Court Chief Judge Ann Callis, former state Rep. Jay Hoffman and state Rep. John Bradley, according to Illinois Democrats.
Former St. Clair County Regional Superintendent of Schools Brad Harriman, who won the Democratic primary in March, left the race this week because a longtime “neurological condition” forced him to curtail campaigning. Now Democrats must find a new candidate to face GOP nominee Jason Plummer in the competitive race for retiring Rep. Jerry Costello’s (D) seat.
The Democratic nominee for the seat of retiring Rep. Jerry Costello (D) dropped out of the race suddenly on Tuesday, leaving the field for the competitive southern Illinois House seat in flux.
Citing health reasons, former St. Clair County Regional Superintendent of Schools Brad Harriman told reporters that “voters of Southern Illinois … deserve a candidate that can withstand the pace that this race will require.”
Harriman’s departure leaves Democrats searching for a nominee to face the GOP’s candidate, Jason Plummer, two months after the primary.
Local Democratic Party chairmen from the 12th district will select a replacement nominee in the coming weeks. Costello will reportedly head that selection committee.
Oddly, this isn’t the first time this cycle southern Illinois officials are in this position. Less than two weeks ago in a neighboring district, local Republican Party chairmen picked a new GOP nominee for the 13th district after Rep. Timothy Johnson dropped out of the race in April.
Utah Congressional candidate Mia Love, who is in Washington, D.C., this week for meetings, was one of the candidates promoted to "Young Guns" status. (Douglas Graham/CQ Roll Call)
The National Republican Congressional Committee today announced its first round of Young Guns — candidates who have reached the highest tier of the committee’s recruitment and candidate support program.
The candidates are a diverse group that includes two woman, one of whom is African-American; a man of Portuguese descent; an openly gay man and a Jewish man.
“These candidates have met a series of rigorous goals that will put them in position to win on Election Day,” NRCC Chairman Pete Sessions (Texas) said in a statement. Full story
