The Scheurer family has decided to take part in a fourth election cycle challenge to 8th District Congresswoman Melissa Bean.
2004
In 2004, Bill Scheurer ran against Bean in the Democratic Party primary election. Bean received 26,704 votes to Scheurer’s 7,518.
During that same primary election, Crystal Lake Park Board member Dave Phelps challenged the longest serving Republican in Congress, Phil Crane.
Crane won the primary 35,412 to 16,146.
Bean went on to beat Crane 139,792 to 130,601.
2006
The second time around in 2006, Scheurer formed his own political party, the Moderate Party.
Bean ran unopposed in the Democratic Party primary.
Republicans had a free-for-all with Dave McSweeney garnering more primary votes than Bean’s 23,375.
McSweeney bested Kathy Salvi 25,085 to 19,370. State Rep. Bob Churchill received 9,169 and three other candidates–Aaron Lincoln, Ken Arnold and Jim Mitchell–received less than 3,000 apiece.
The campaign was highlighted by McBeaney, a half-donkey, half-elephant creature you see in its Beanie Baby form you see above next to Scheurer at the Lake County Fair. Below it is the parade version standing next to a person pretending to be President George W. Bush. The donkeyphant was named after Bean and her Republican opponent Dave McSweeney.
The 2006 campaign was filled with cute gimmicks, all of which the Main Stream media ignored. Above is one that says,
DON’T VOTE BEAN
“ABSENTEA
VOTER!”
With the TEA Party demonstrations locally, that idea will probably have to be re-worked for 2010.
In any event, the fall elections turned out with Bean on top:
- Melissa Bean – 93,355
- David McSweeney – 80,720
- Bill Scheurer – 9,312
- Jonathan Farnick (a write-in) – 7
Scheurer’s Moderate Party candidacy, however, garnered more than 5% of the vote thought, thus earning it “established party status.” That means far fewer signatures have to be gathered than parties with no track record.
2008
In 2008, Randi Scheurer took on Bean in the Democratic Party primary, while I expected Bill to take the third party route.
Bean won the primary 64,255 to 12,968.
The Republicans had a three-way primary that turned out like this:
- Steve Greenberg – 29,261
- Kirk Morris – 11,640
- Ken Arnold – 10,289
Instead of Scheurer, Iain Abernathy was heading to the ballot as the Moderate Party candidate. Scheurer urged his supporters to back the Green Party. Abernathy moved over, was slated and, then, was removed from the ballot.
In the general election, Bean triumphed over Greenberg 179,444 to 116,081.
2010
As the 2010 election calendar began, word reached McHenry County Blog that Bill Scheurer was going to run against Bean on the Green Party ticket.
It doesn’t take many signatures–only 36–because the Green Party is an established state party based on its gubernatorial candidate’s having received 10% of the vote in 2006 when Rod Blagojevich and Judy Baar Topinka were the power parties’ candidates.
I asked why Scheurer was running?
His answer:
“to discover a ‘new politics of good will’ to help heal the bitter & violent divides of ‘us vs. them’ politics in our society” and
“to raise important issues & viewpoints that neither of the incumbent-party candidates will address in our district.”
I asked if his candidacy had had any effect on Bean’s behavior yet.
“We doubt the incumbent cares about our campaign,” he replied.
“She values campaign funding & party machinery.
“We have neither.”
A favorite has not yet emerged from the Republican Party.
Former one-term Crystal Lake High School District 155 board member John Dawson and Greg Jacobs, a retired Cook County Sheriff’s deputy have announced interest in representing the GOP next year.
Before the McHenry County Democratic Central Committee at the Farm Bureau building in Woodstock, I met Jonathon Farnick.
