Dems Now Favored in Key Illinois House Race, as GOP Nominee Quits [View All]

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Dems Now Favored in Key Illinois House Race, as GOP Nominee Quits
By Greg Giroux, CQ Staff


House Republican campaign officials — already hindered by a big disadvantage in the number of “open” seats they have to defend this year — suffered a blow Friday in their efforts to hold one that already was particularly vulnerable to Democratic takeover. The GOP now faces an emergency recruiting job in Illinois’ politically competitive 11th District after local officeholder Tim Baldermann, the winner of a competitive primary just two and a half weeks earlier, unexpectedly declined the nomination.

In light of Baldermann’s withdrawal, CQ Politics has changed its rating on the Illinois 11 race to Democrat Favored from No Clear Favorite.

Baldermann’s dropout — which he attributed to the problems he faced juggling the responsibilities of his local positions with an intense campaign for Congress — is a setback to the Republican Party’s already uncertain efforts to retain control of the district. The Democrats are fielding state Sen. Debbie Halvorson, one of their strongest open-seat candidates in this year’s House elections.

Halvorson is running to succeed retiring seven-term Rep. Jerry Weller . He is one of 24 House Republicans who are either voluntarily retiring or running for other offices, compared with just five Democrats who have voluntarily left their seats open.

The Republicans do have the opportunity, though, to make a more competitive contest out of it by November — if they can persuade a strong candidate to make a prompt decision to enter the race. That is because Illinois law allows party officials plenty of leeway to replace nominees who drop out after winning primary contests. Republican officials have until early April to select a new candidate.

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http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?parm1=5&docID=news-000002675667