Dem Bill Foster wins Hastert's seat in special election after Obama endorsement!

[usregimechange]

In a stunning upset Saturday that could be a harbinger of trouble for the GOP this fall, a little-known Democratic physicist won the special election for a seat drawn to re-elect former Republican House Speaker Dennis Hastert.

Bill Foster defeated Republican Jim Oberweis, who lost his fourth high-profile election in six years, following an expensive and highly negative contest.

The win gives Democrats another House seat until at least the end of the year. It also could serve as an omen for November, when two other Illinois congressional seats are up for grabs following Republican retirements and Sen. Barack Obama could bring out a huge turnout if he's the Democratic presidential nominee.

Foster won with 52 percent to Oberweis' 48 percent with nearly all of the unofficial vote counted late Saturday.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-foster-wins-hasterts-seat-080308,0,7539185.story
http://www.foster08.com/2008/03/obama_says_bill_2.html

Obama Says Bill Foster is "The Change We Need"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnaGlxUUFv4



"...this is a district that Bush won 55-44 in 2004 and Hastert won 60-40 in 2006."
http://www.mydd.com/story/2008/3/6/163533/9669

"For Obama, the race is a chance to burnish his image as someone who can help Democrats win, even in red districts."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/07/AR2008030703062.html?nav=rss_politics

The Democratic Majority in the House has now grown to 232-198!!!

[Oceansaway]

1. TOUCHE !!..n/t

[Mz Pip]

2. When was the last time this district

went Democratic? This has been a solid Republican district for as long as I can remember. The tide has shifted.

[murielm99]

3. This is Foster's win, not Obama's.

It is also a win for the grassroots, who worked incredibly hard to get out the vote. This was especially true in Dekalb County.

If you are going to mention Obama's name, don't forget our senior Senator. Durbin endorsed Foster, too.

[monomach]

5. See below.

I didn't get emails from Durbin. My father didn't get robocalls from Durbin.

We got them from Obama, though.

[murielm99]

16. I don't know why not.

Others in the 14th received emails from Durbin. I am in the 17th, but I got e-mails from Durbin about the race.

[skids]

8. In a very solid way it is also Obamas win...

Bill Foster now becomes a new super-delegate for the state. Who ya think he's going to endorse?

[murielm99]

22. Very solid win for the grassroots.

They moved heaven and earth to get out the vote. As it was, turnout was low. Many voters paid no attention, even with the publicity and the national spotlight, considering it was the seat of the former Speaker of the House. Barely one in five registered voters showed up.

It is insulting to the grassroots to credit St. Obama with a win by a novice candidate and an army of dedicated volunteers.

My Presidential vote will go to the nominee. But I get sick of Obama supporters who act like he walks on water. He is an ordinary human being. If he becomes President, he will make mistakes, like anyone else. That reality could be a tough adjustment for some Obama supporters.

[skids]

38. I'm just saying. benefit wise, not credit wise n/t

[monomach]

4. Got this email from Obama:

Dear (my name),

You can start bringing real change to Illinois today.

The 14th Congressional District is holding a special election for an open seat in the U.S. House of Representatives this Saturday, March 8th.

Bill Foster is running for this seat, and he is the right leader for this district and for this moment in history.

Bill has lived and raised his family in the Fox Valley for more than twenty years. He is a businessman and a scientist, and he is committed to solving problems, achieving progress, and fighting for the region's families in Washington.

That's why Barack Obama supports Bill Foster -- and why you should too.

With our simple phonebanking tool, you can call Bill's supporters from your own home and encourage them to get out and vote tomorrow. Help Bill win -- start making calls today:

http://my.barackobama.com/CallforBill

The Republican Party is spending more than one million dollars on this race, trying to keep Bill out of Washington because they know he represents a new kind of politics that will help diminish the power of special interests and put government back in the hands of the people.

Despite the long odds, Bill is running neck and neck with his Republican opponent. If Bill wins, this could be the beginning of a wave of change that will sweep across this nation in November.

Only you can make that happen.

Your incredible grassroots energy has helped Barack Obama overcome the same obstacles Bill faces in this race. Now, in these crucial days before Saturday's special election, your support can make the difference once again.

Start making calls right now, and send a message that Illinois is ready for change:

http://my.barackobama.com/CallforBill

Thanks for all your hard work,

Obama for America

P.S. -- Bill also needs your help on the ground in these crucial days before Saturday's special election. Watch this video of Barack talking about Bill, and sign up to volunteer today:



http://my.barackobama.com/BillFoster

[muntrv]

6. Nice!!

:toast: :woohoo:

[Alhena]

7. Great! Is this a new superdelegate for Obama?

[papau]

12. yes - he supports Obama

[usregimechange]

13. Superdelegates suck even if they help my guy

[grantcart]

18. hahahaha always thinking love it

wonder if Bill will give him a call lol


spit up by drink when I read your post lol

[papau]

9. The Trib report gives no credit to Obama -which seems reasonable since his contribution as the local

State Senator seemed minimal - one spot and then allowing his name to be used in one round of robo calls.

Hard to see the "coattails" that you are trying to claim. Foster won because he earned it - not because of Obama help.

[angie_love]

20. would you like some cheese with that whine? this is good news for dems.

stop bashing obama for a minute and be happy for us. geez

[nevergiveup]

28. Your response is pathetic

I live in this district and everyone at work received a recorded message from Obama asking them to support Foster. It was a big deal for them and even though it was an unusual election being on a Saturday, all 7 of my employees in a small company made the effort to vote today and they all voted for Foster. Obama's support was very helpful as Foster was virtually unknown several months ago. Hillary's support would have also been welcome. This is a huge huge upset in a very red Illinois district. We now have a Democratic progressive congressman replacing one of the biggest buffoons in congress. You should be delighted instead of using it as an opportunity to bash Obama.

[Cha]

10. "Highly negative campaign"..and

he still lost. What a shame.

[Unsane]

11. Obama nomination = broad gains in Congress

Hillary nomination = back to minority status

[Cha]

14. Really. n/t.

[angie_love]

15. cool beans!!!!!

[johnnydrama]

17. great win for Foster

I think a tiny bit of credit should go to Obama. He has the email list to send thousands of emails out to people in the district, which I doubt Foster had.

Kerry's email list can come in handy in more ways than one.

[grantcart]

19. This is fucking unbelievable - didn't even hear anything about it

recently. Now I will have to listen to Limbaugh on Monday because he will talk about it and it will be a meltdown.

Republicans all over the country will be shitting in their pants when this sinks in.

Great post thank you so much.

[usregimechange]

21. My thoughts precisely!

[grace0418]

26. It's not just fantastic that a Dem won, it's even more delicious that

Jim Oberweis lost. He's a total asshole racist POS.

[usregimechange]

23. Kick!

[quiet.american]

24. How. Sweet. It. Is. nt

[grace0418]

25. As I said in the other thread TAKE THAT, MILK NAZI!

Jim Oberweis is a racist tool. I don't know whether I'm happier that a Dem won, or that fucker lost. Either way, YAY!

[Eric J in MN]

30. How do you know Jim Oberweis is a racist? NT

NT

[murielm99]

32. Oberweis is a perennial candidate.

He has made some godawful commercials foaming at the mouth about illegal immigrants. His remarks indicate that he hates brown people.

A large part of his dairy business is in Aurora, which has a large Spanish speaking population.

I would say that he was one of the first republicans to make a big hateful deal about illegal immigrants. He was doing it before most of them tried to make it a campaign issue for this election season.

[grace0418]

33. What murielm99 said. Not only does he make horrible comments about illegal

immigrants, he's a total hypocrite because he's certainly not above hiring them at his dairy stores (and no doubt paying them next to nothing). ETA he's also a big old homophobe as well. And all-around fuckhead.

[usregimechange]

34. We won't be hearing as much from him now

[grace0418]

36. Hopefully he'll quit trying to run for elected office. How many times is that now?

Get the hint, Milk Nazi.

[mucifer]

27. Foster also had help from people working on Dan Seals' campaign

who had some free time til November. Dan Seals is another man who is gonna take a republican seat in IL in November and we will say goodbye to Mark Kirk. BTW Obama and Durbin support Seals of course.

[SoCalDem]

29. What a weird, gerrymandered district that one is

:eyes:

I would love to see a new districting of the whole country..

just have a computer lay down a standard grid over the whole country & add or subtract congresspeople as needed..

the system we have is NUTS..

[JimGinPA]

31. That's Why We Need A Majority In 2010 When The New Census Is Due...

On the state level & in Wash. Obama as with his grassroot operations throughout the country can change the political landscape.

[krkaufman]

35. Coattail candidate #1 .... !!! n/t

(not to take anything away from the campaign of Rep-elect Foster)

[usregimechange]

37. He will turn large portions of the whole damn country blue

[usregimechange]

39. kick

[Scurrilous]

40. Great news!

:thumbsup:

[Thrill]

41. No surpise. There is no question who every Democrat running for congress

wants on the top of the ticket.