McHenry County Blog

Here’s his email:

THANK YOU.

Thank You.

Randy Hultgren at the Family PAC cruise.

Over the last 14 months, we’ve all worked tirelessly together in our fight to restore fiscal sanity, and our victory tonight was a testament to our American resolve for freedom, entrepreneurship, limited government, low taxes and economic growth.

I am forever grateful for the unparalleled outpouring of support my family and I received during this endeavor, and I cannot stress enough the important role you played in this election. I really couldn’t have done it without your hard work and support. We did this together.

This was also an important victory for the people of the 14th district. Despite millions of dollars of negative ads, our community rejected the negative politics of fear and lies, and focused on the issues of job creation and economic growth.

Going forward, I want to reaffirm my commitment and vow to you and the people of the 14th Congressional District that this is your seat, and you’re my boss. I look forward to working for you. I will listen to you. And when you express your opinion and counsel and make your voice heard, I won’t just hear, I’ll listen. Public service is a sacred trust, and I will always expect to be held accountable.

Thank you again for all you’ve done, and let’s work harder than we ever have before at getting our community and our country back to work.

Best regards,

RANDY HULTGREN

The short answer is, of course, Republican Randy Hultgren is giving incumbent 14th District Democrat a real run for his money.

The other answer might be Bill Foster’s record.

Take a look.

Melissa Bean

This should be no surprise if you follow politics and know how liberal the Daily Herald’s current editors are.

But the rationalization for the Daily Herald endorsing Democrat Melissa Bean is a whopper. Here it is:

Bean “is unafraid to vote against the party line.”

I guess being a deciding vote for Obamacare to mess up our health care system and not offering a single compromise to attract a single Republican vote was what the Daily Herald was thinking of.

Or Bean’s spendaholic stimulus vote that was all Democrat.

Newspapers trying to keep failed liberal politicians in office is one of the reasons Illinois remains so corrupt.

Consistent with “Let’s keep Democrat Liberals in Office” the Daily Herald endorsed liberal Democrat Bill Foster.

As a practical matter the Daily Herald isn’t going to endorse a conservative for the U.S. House if they think he or she has a good chance to win.

Of course the Daily Herald also endorsed liberal Democrat Dan Seals for the U.S. House.

• Bean - Liberal Democrat – Endorsed by Daily Herald
• Foster – Liberal Democrat – Endorsed by Daily Herald
• Seals – Liberal Democrat – Endorsed by Daily Herald

See any pattern?

I guess we are supposed to be thrown off their scent by the Daily Herald endorsing Republican Bill Brady for Governor.

Endorsing Captain Pudding Head was probably too embarrassing.

See also:

Daily Herald Tries to Cover Rear End on Joe Walsh

Randy Hultgren

Here’s the press release:

Randy Hultgren Up By Six

ST. CHARLES – The Randy Hultgren for Congress campaign issued the following statement from campaign manager John Cooney regarding new poll numbers.

“For months, Bill Foster has tried to run from his record of lockstep support for Nancy Pelosi’s disastrous agenda.

Instead of trying to defend his votes for the failed stimulus, Wall Street bailouts and nationalized health care, Bill Foster instead has polluted the airwaves with lies about Randy Hultgren. Bill Foster’s desperate and negative attacks have failed to fool Illinois voters.

Despite weeks of negative attacks and distortions, Randy Hultgren now enjoys his largest lead in this race, and is poised to defeat Bill Foster in November.

Illinois voters do not want a Congressman who votes in lockstep with Nancy Pelosi and the Democrat Congress. They are ready for real leadership in Washington.”

You can bring sunshine into a candiate's life by volunteering, just as this sunflower did.

All political candidates are looking for volunteers at this time in the election cycle.

Yesterday, McHenry County Blog showed you a photo of one working for Lori McConville for County Board. She’s the Democrat running against incumbent Barb Wheeler and former member Nick Provenzano, now staging a come back.

(If he and John Jung win, I guess I can call them retreads, as I labeled myself when I started my second eight-year stint in the Illinois House of Representatives in 1993.)

In any event, a friend of McHenry County Blog sent me this “volunteer sunflower.”

I was told the birds didn’t get its seed.  A further word about volunteering to those who went to TEA Party rallies in Crystal Lake, Algonquin and Lake in the Hills.

If you would spend the same amount of time helping

• Jack Franks’ Republican opponent John O’Neill
• Melissa Bean’s GOP opponent Joe Walsh
• Keith Farnhan’s GOP opponent Ruth Munson
• Bill Foster’s Republican challenger Randy Hultgren

all of them could be defeated.

Of course, the opposite result could occur if those who willing to volunteer for their Democratic Party incumbents get out and work as Terry Kappel is.

Apparently stung by charges levied in a television ad by his opponent Bill Foster, the incumbent Democratic Party congressman, challenger Randy Hultgren has issued the following statement:

BILL FOSTER IS LYING

Randy Hultgren

By now you may have seen the malicious and utterly false ads from my opponent, Democrat Congressman Bill Foster.

His allegations against me are not true.

Frankly, he is lying about my employment.

With his millions of campaign dollars, Bill Foster hopes he can fool you into believing a lie.

I do not and have not sold or benefited from the sale of toxic assets. I have not been involved in transactions with sub-prime mortgages or benefited from the massive government bailouts that Bill Foster has championed.

I was against government bailouts yesterday, I am against bailouts today, and I will be against government bailouts tomorrow.

The truth is, I am proud to work for a local company that’s providing investment advice to families and is employing many who reside here in our community.

So why is Bill Foster doing this?

Clearly he does not want this election to be about his record or about our values and vision for the future. He has made the decision to disregard his own constituents and has voted with Nancy Pelosi a mind-boggling 92.5 percent of the time!

Bill Foster is desperate to retain his seat in Congress. It did not take him long to adopt the Washington insider view that it’s ok to say and do anything to get reelected.  I hope Bill Foster will make an attempt to regain his integrity in the days that remain in this campaign, by focusing on the issues and his record.

Many of our neighbors are suffering in this recession. That suffering has been prolonged by Bill Foster’s job killing policies and reckless spending.

I believe the true priorities of this campaign are getting our friends, family and neighbors working again by creating an economic climate that encourages job creation. That’s what we ought to be talking about in this campaign, and that is what I intend to continue talking about.

Thank you for everything you’re doing, and for your ongoing support. If you have any questions, please let me know.

Best regards,

RANDY HULTGREN
Candidate for Congress

That’s where the 14th congressional district is, of course.

The ad is an attack on Foster actions which Randy Hultgren says has hurt the job creation in Illinois.

"680,000 unemployed," says one slide.

Here’s aspirant Randy Hultgren’s press release:

Hultgren Campaign Releases New TV Ad: Vote

ST. CHARLES – The Randy Hultgren for Congress campaign issued the following statement today regarding the release of their new television advertisement, “Vote.”

"Foster: $525 billion job killing taxes," is the text in another slide. A sign supposedly on the front of a business reads, "Sorry. We're CLOSED for ever."

“As Bill Foster launches one desperate and dishonest attack after another on Randy Hultgren, it’s important that voters are fully informed of Bill Foster’s out-of-touch, liberal record of voting with Nancy Pelosi 93% of the time, and his support for the Wall Street bailout, the so-called ‘stimulus,’ and the Foster-Pelosi government takeover of health care,” said campaign spokesman Gill Stevens.

The ad points out how closely Bill Foster is linked with San Francisco House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

“This ad does just that, and reminds voters that Bill Foster is part of the problem in Washington, DC.”

The ad can be viewed here.  It will begin airing throughout the 14th District today.

You can see the ad by clicking on the YouTube screen.

Randy Hultgren

The following email was received from State Senator Randy Hultgren’s campaign:

FOSTER’S DESPERATION

• Trailing 10% among independent voters and
• having voted with Nancy Pelosi 93% of the time in support of bailouts, failed stimulus, crippling regulations on small-business and the government takeover of health care,

Congressman (Bill) Foster just decided his last resort is to distort Randy’s record with a deceitful new television ad.

Many of you have expressed alarm that Congressman Foster would resort to such shameful tactics, and we agree.

The bottom line is Randy has an exceptional record as a proven leader in fighting for lower taxes. But don’t take my word for it, here’s what Jim Tobin, President of National Taxpayers United of Illinois and Tax Accountability, has to say:

“Randy Hultgren has a proven record of voting for lower taxes, smaller government, and greater accountability… which has earned him our taxpayer’s friend award six years in a row.”

“For a tax-and-spend liberal like Bill Foster to attack a committed tax-cutter like Randy Hultgren is the height of desperation. Bill Foster has voted for higher taxes at almost every opportunity – that’s why he’s received a lifetime rating of 14 percent from the National Taxpayers Union. Randy Hultgren has consistently been a champion of Illinois taxpayers and pro-growth policies; for Bill Foster to suggest otherwise is ridiculous.”

If you’re tired of these deceitful and negative attacks, here’s what you can do to help:

1. Come walk precincts with us THIS SATURDAY. Contact our precinct squad leader Scott; you can email him here: scott@hultgrenforcongress.com
2. Volunteer for a 2 hour shift at our Victory Center. Call Rose, our Volunteer Coordinator at 630-609-0016

And, if you can afford it, make another contribution. $100, $50, $25, $10, or $5 will make a big difference. Remember, Congressman Foster has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars from lobbyists and out of state donors; but we’re counting on the support of local people here in our community.

As always, thank you for your continued support.

Best regards,

MISCHA FISHER
Political Director | Hultgren For Congress

= = = = =
Hultgren’s district is just south of the McHenry County line.

A photo of the New York Times interactive congressional district map.

Here’s a map with a link to all 435 congressional districts. Click on a district and you will see what odds statistician Nate Silver gives each candidate for victory.

Let’s look at those in Northern and Central Illinois.

McHenry County first.

Don Manzullo is giving a 100% chance of winning reelection over George Gaulrapp. The predicted result is 65% to 33%.

In the 8^th congressional district, incumbent Democrat Melissa Bean is given a 96.6% of beating Republican Joe Walsh and Green Bill Scheurer. Silver thinks the vote will be 55% to 42%. Presumably, he thinks Scheurer will get 3%.

In the 14^th District, which starts at the McHenry-Kane County line and goes south, Silver gives Randy Hultgren a 62.6% chance of unseating incumbent Democrat Bill Foster. The final percentages will be 50-48, according to his computer model.

In the North Shore district Mark Kirk is vacating to run for the U.S. Senate, Democrat Dan Seals has a 52.7% chance of winning. The vote total is projected to be 49% to 49%.

In the 17^th District, south of Don Manzullo’s, one of the most gerrymandered in Illinois, Silver thinks incumbent Democrat Phil Hare has a 73,4% chance of victory. The vote total will be 52% for Hare to 43% for Bobby Schilling, his projections goes.

Republican challenger Adam Kinzinger is estimated to have an 87.5% chance of capturing the 11^th District from incumbent Debbie Halvorson. The tally will be 53% to 45%, Silver projects.

Randy Hultgren

If the poll results released by the Randy Hultgren campaign hold up, Kane County could have a Republican congressman next year.

Here’s the press release from 14th District GOP candidate:

Hultgren Widens Lead in the 14th District

St. Charles – In poll results released today from We Ask America, State Senator Randy Hultgren is leading the incumbent, Bill Foster, in the race for Illinois’ 14th Congressional District 44% to 37%.

The August 4th poll sampled responses from 1,028 registered voters in the 14th Congressional District.

“While we do not live and die by every poll that comes out, today’s We Ask America poll shows clear momentum for Randy’s campaign for Congress,” said John Cooney, Campaign Manager for Randy Hultgren.

“Just two months ago, Randy led by a single percentage point, so this survey shows real movement as voters begin to focus on the candidates and their records.”

“Along with a seven point lead among registered voters, Randy enjoys a ten point advantage among independent voters who strongly reject the failed policies of the Foster/Pelosi Congress,” said Cooney.

“Bill Foster voted for a stimulus package that failed to create jobs and a health care boondoggle that cuts $500 billion out of Medicare. Illinois voters are coming to realize that Randy Hultgren is the right choice for our families and our future.”