The race for the seat in Illinois’ 10th Congressional District was a tossup until the very last vote was cast. The seat had been held for 3 consecutive terms by Republican Mark Kirk who is now Illinois’ Senator-elect. This particular race was significant at both the local and national levels in that it was one of the only open seats that the Democratic Party had a shot at gaining this election season. Up until the week before the election, polls had consistently shown an extremely close race between the two candidates with the Democratic candidate, Dan Seals in the lead by a very small margin.
Dan Seals was endorsed by Vice President Biden. This was a pivotal election in that the Nation was shifting away from the Presidential party and toward the Right. Likewise, the Vice President as a constituent was not much help for Seals who took 49% of the votes and lost by only 5,006 votes!
The 10th District’s Representative-elect, Bob Dold, utilized his relationship with Mark Kirk as a way in. Dold was competing with the name recognition that Seals had gained from the two previous times he ran for this seat and used the popularity of his successor to his advantage. The voters of the 10th district clearly like Kirk enough to elect him into Congress 3 times and now into the Senate, so of course teaming up with him would be beneficial. Dold was also endorsed by several other political hotshots listed on his website.
The Democrats of Illinois’ 10th Congressional District had high hopes for this election, and through it all Dan Seals’ campaign and self-presentation seemed to be the most fitting for this Dirstrict, but Dold rode in on the coat tale of Kirk.
Its very interesting to observe the role that endorsements play in congressional campaigns. Now that Dold has secured a bid to Washington, he will have a lot to prove if he hopes to be re-elected to more than one term as Kirk was. Perhaps it was the drop in approval rating of the Democratic Congress and White House that did not give Vice President Biden's endorsement as much success as Seals had hoped. It may have even hurt Seals if the voters associated him with a group of people in Washington that are not favored presently.
ReplyDeleteWhat a close race! I think that the outcome of this election, like you said makes the shift in washington very clear. The Democrats had more of a chance here than anywhere else and still they couldnt close the deal. It is also interesting how important connections and endorsements seemed to be. Dold relied on his relationships with Republican leaders, while seals had an endorsement from the Vice President and that still was not enough. I wonder if his support from the white house may have hurt him at all, because voters are looking for a change from the current administration
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