Illinois Republican Party

Schilling, Hare contest could be tight
7/29/2010

By Eric Timmons - Galesburg Register-Mail

Republican newcomer Bobby Schilling is making a real contest out of his bid to unseat Congressman Phil Hare, D-Rock Island, and could yet produce an upset.

The Cook Political Report, which analyzes federal elections, has changed its rating for the 17th Congressional District of Illinois from "Solid D" to "Likely D," a sign that Schilling's campaign has gained some momentum. Real Clear Politics, another election analysis provider, has changed the seat from "Safe Dem" to "Likely Dem."

There's still a long campaign ahead before the Nov. 2 election and Hare has much more money to spend on the race. Schilling will be hoping he can ride a wave of anti-government feeling to beat Hare, although the odds are still stacked against that happening.

The mood in the fall elections is expected to be strongly anti-incumbent, which could mean a big swing against Democrats. But the picture on the ground is not always so clear and there will be plenty of action between now and election day that could nudge individual races one way or the other.

Despite all of the controversies that have dogged his campaign, Rasmussen reported Thursday that Democrat Alexi Giannoulias still has a marginal edge over his Republican rival Mark Kirk in the race for President Barack Obama's old senate seat. Giannoulias leads by 43 percent to 41 percent. Kirk, of course, also has had his share of controversies to deal with.

In the governor's race, Rasmussen has Republican Bill Brady leading Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn by 44 percent to 37 percent. Quinn is down from 40 percent on the last poll, while Brady is up from 43 percent. The numbers don't look good for Quinn.

SOURCE: Galesburg Register-Mail

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