CBS: Which Democrat Has Bigger Coattails?

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/03/10/politics/main3922008.shtml

(CBS) This story was written by CBSNews.com political reporter Brian Montopoli.

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Over the weekend, a little-known Democrat named Bill Foster won a special election in Illinois for the House seat long held by former speaker Dennis Hastert.

It was a relatively small victory, but one, Democrats hope, with big implications.

Foster won in a district thought to be a Republican stronghold, and he did it despite the efforts of the National Republican Congressional Committee, which dumped more than $1 million into the race.


Democratic presidential hopefuls Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y. and Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., Tuesday, March 4, 2008. (AP)


Democrats suggest the outcome is a sign of things to come.

"Republican candidates learned tonight that Senator McCain, who campaigned with the Republican nominee, cannot save them from defeat this November against strong Democratic challengers, even in districts that voted overwhelmingly for President Bush,” Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chairman Chris Van Hollen said following Foster's victory.

Democrats now hold slim majorities in the House and Senate, and the party is expected to make gains in both chambers in November. (Congressional watchers have suggested a 4-6 seat gain in the Senate and around a 12 seat gain in the House.) The most optimistic have suggested that the party might be able to secure the 60 votes they need for a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate, an advantage neither party has seen for decades.


FULL story at link.