|
|
|
A Carbondale war hero and purple heart recipient who survived a 2004 attack by a suicide bomber during the first of two tours in Iraq has become a casualty of the campaign financing wars in the 12th District congressional race.
Chris Miller announced over the weekend he is dropping out of the race for the seat held by retiring Rep. Jerry Costello. It’s a seat that only two men — Costello and the late Democrat Mel Price — have had a collective lock on for more than seven decades.
With the primary only one month away, Miller simply couldn’t financially compete and instead yields to Democrat frontrunner Brad Harriman of O'Fallon, who is the former St. Clair County regional schools superintendent.
It’s a “kill or be killed” race where Republican 19th Congressional District Rep. John Shimkus says republicans need to be “all in.” Shimkus — a 16 year member of Congresscriss-crossed Southern Illinois last week to endorse Republican Jason Plummer, who benefits from the deep pockets of a family lumber business.
Costello’s 12th District stretches St. Louis' from the Metro East suburbs through coal country, orchards and the Shawnee National Forest to the state's southern tip. It’s mix of Columbia posh and Deep South poor.
Shimkus said, “This is a race Republicans can win.”
With Miller’s exodus, the five potential successors in the March 20 primaries are now down to five -- two on the Democrat side and t on the Republican side.
It is a critical seat for Democrats to hold, but Republicans are banking on the area's conservative leanings as the state and national economic train wrecks continue to burn.
You have to go no farther than the office of Perry County Clerk Kevin Kern who watches voter turnout drop with every election. “Pox on both of their houses,” he says of both parties both seated and seeking election.
Democrats say they are confident of maintaining the seat, but the GOP takes heart from 2010 election results in which other parts of downstate Illinois shifted its way. Among them is U.S. Rep. Bobby Schilling's defeat of incumbent Democrat Phil Hare in the 17th Congressional District – a seat not held by Republicans since 1980.
At this writing, the race is a jump ball.
On the GOP side are Rodger Cook, a former Belleville mayor and St. Louis Cardinals football player; Theresa Kormos, an O'Fallon nurse who narrowly lost the GOP primary in 2010; and Jason Plummer, a businessman who was the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor in 2010.
The Democratic race has in it Brad Harriman of O'Fallon, who is the former St. Clair County regional schools superintendent, and Ken Wiezer, a retired carpenter from Granite City.
Wiezer has run unsuccessfully against Costello several times in the past in the Democrat Primary and has never garnered any type of party support. He is not seen as a viable candidate this time either.
Even as Republicans were sent to Washington enmasse in 2010, Costello got more than 60 percent of the vote. A Costello 12th District is almost a tradition. Before Costello, Mel Price held the district for 44 years until his death in 1988.
Harriman has been endorsed by Costello as heir apparent and Democrats don’t seem to be worried.
But, things are not same old, same old. Unemployment remains high. Coal mining is coming back despite Congress, not because of it. Approval ratings are at the bottom of the strip cut. And, a lot of the blue collar Democrats that people like Costello could count on no longer stand at attention.
Congress is dysfunctional, at best. Even Shimkus quipped with this reporter that “I’ve been in congress 16 years so I guess that makes me part of the problem (in the public’s eye).
Illinois has the human and natural resources, but remains stagnated by poor public policy.
The 12th District race could easily be decided by crossover votes as the electorate continues to search — not for a Republican or a Democrat — but for a hero.
Tom Tiernan, Gatehouse group publisher, contributed to this story as well.
A Carbondale war hero and purple heart recipient who survived a 2004 attack by a suicide bomber during the first of two tours in Iraq has become a casualty of the campaign financing wars in the 12th District congressional race.
Chris Miller announced over the weekend he is dropping out of the race for the seat held by retiring Rep. Jerry Costello. It’s a seat that only two men — Costello and the late Democrat Mel Price — have had a collective lock on for more than seven decades.
With the primary only one month away, Miller simply couldn’t financially compete and instead yields to Democrat frontrunner Brad Harriman of O'Fallon, who is the former St. Clair County regional schools superintendent.
It’s a “kill or be killed” race where Republican 19th Congressional District Rep. John Shimkus says republicans need to be “all in.” Shimkus — a 16 year member of Congresscriss-crossed Southern Illinois last week to endorse Republican Jason Plummer, who benefits from the deep pockets of a family lumber business.
Costello’s 12th District stretches St. Louis' from the Metro East suburbs through coal country, orchards and the Shawnee National Forest to the state's southern tip. It’s mix of Columbia posh and Deep South poor.
Shimkus said, “This is a race Republicans can win.”
With Miller’s exodus, the five potential successors in the March 20 primaries are now down to five -- two on the Democrat side and t on the Republican side.
It is a critical seat for Democrats to hold, but Republicans are banking on the area's conservative leanings as the state and national economic train wrecks continue to burn.
You have to go no farther than the office of Perry County Clerk Kevin Kern who watches voter turnout drop with every election. “Pox on both of their houses,” he says of both parties both seated and seeking election.
Democrats say they are confident of maintaining the seat, but the GOP takes heart from 2010 election results in which other parts of downstate Illinois shifted its way. Among them is U.S. Rep. Bobby Schilling's defeat of incumbent Democrat Phil Hare in the 17th Congressional District – a seat not held by Republicans since 1980.
At this writing, the race is a jump ball.
On the GOP side are Rodger Cook, a former Belleville mayor and St. Louis Cardinals football player; Theresa Kormos, an O'Fallon nurse who narrowly lost the GOP primary in 2010; and Jason Plummer, a businessman who was the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor in 2010.
The Democratic race has in it Brad Harriman of O'Fallon, who is the former St. Clair County regional schools superintendent, and Ken Wiezer, a retired carpenter from Granite City.
Wiezer has run unsuccessfully against Costello several times in the past in the Democrat Primary and has never garnered any type of party support. He is not seen as a viable candidate this time either.
Even as Republicans were sent to Washington enmasse in 2010, Costello got more than 60 percent of the vote. A Costello 12th District is almost a tradition. Before Costello, Mel Price held the district for 44 years until his death in 1988.
Harriman has been endorsed by Costello as heir apparent and Democrats don’t seem to be worried.
But, things are not same old, same old. Unemployment remains high. Coal mining is coming back despite Congress, not because of it. Approval ratings are at the bottom of the strip cut. And, a lot of the blue collar Democrats that people like Costello could count on no longer stand at attention.
Congress is dysfunctional, at best. Even Shimkus quipped with this reporter that “I’ve been in congress 16 years so I guess that makes me part of the problem (in the public’s eye).
Illinois has the human and natural resources, but remains stagnated by poor public policy.
The 12th District race could easily be decided by crossover votes as the electorate continues to search — not for a Republican or a Democrat — but for a hero.
Tom Tiernan, Gatehouse group publisher, contributed to this story as well.
