Today is the filing deadline for the 2010 elections here in Illinois and we thought we'd use this opportunity to talk candidly about what's happening here in the 7th district. There's been a lot of political maneuvering over the past few weeks, especially in regard Congressman Davis's straddling the fence about re-election. Now that the filing deadline is past, Jim is updating all of his supporters about the state of the race. Given the welcome we've received here at DailyKos we thought we should share this message with you as well.
Friends,
Of all the questions I get, the most frequent ones have to do with the election itself and what's happening with the other candidates. The media covers our race sporadically, usually only in the context of the Cook County Board Presidential race. There has been some press coverage of the Democratic Primary in the 7th District, but not enough to paint the complete picture so let me fill you in.
The campaign just finished the petition collecting phase. Filing began on Monday, October 26th and finished tonight at 5:00 PM. We now know who is potentially running: Clarence Clemons, Annazette Collins, Robert Dallas, Danny Davis, Sharon Dixon, Bob Fioretti, Marshall Hatch, Rickey Hendon, Joyce Washington and Darlena Williams-Burnett.
We drove down to Springfield early last Monday morning, leaving Chicago around 4:00 am and getting in line sometime after 7:00 am. Monday was the first day to file petitions and everyone in line before 8:00 am was marked as having filed their petitions at 8 am. This is important because the earlier one files, the higher his or her name will appear on the ballot. If more than one candidate file at 8 am, their names are put into a lottery to determine the listing order. Common wisdom dictates that the first name on the ballot will receive some votes merely by its position.
On a side-note, apparently the second best place on the ballot is the bottom. To get that honor, a candidate must be the last to file his or her petitions. So there may have been two people standing by the door before 5:00 pm tonight waiting for the other to go in first, as ridiculous as that sounds.
Obviously, Congressman Danny Davis is the major unknown factor. He's running for Cook County Board President, an office now held by Todd Stroger. Dorothy Brown, Toni Preckwinkle and Terry O'Brien are also running in that election. Davis' internal polling suggests that he leads the pack and that Stroger has the least support.
By law, Davis cannot run for both offices. But he may file for both and then withdraw from one on or before November 9th. Davis' candidacy is weighing heavily on the other candidates. Some are also considering running for other offices which means they're eager to hear what Davis plans to do.
Some in the media have asked Davis what his plans are and, although he claims to have "made up his mind," he has not let any of us in on his decision and his campaign office has been less than helpful on the subject. But I am supporting Danny's bid for Cook County Board President. He has been a dedicated public servant and he will be a great president. So we are preparing to run whether I am challenging an incumbent or not. Either way, I made up my mind months ago. I am in this election.
So, that's where things stand. It's a bit complicated and still somewhat up in the air but we should know by November 9th at 5:00 pm what the election will look like. I'll keep you posted.
Jim
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