Our local Congressional race is attracting a lot of attention from all over the place as the final week of the campaign draws near. Add this new story from POLITICO, published this evening, to other new endorsements of one of the candidates, Ilya Sheyman, this week by Russ Feingold and Kristina vanden Huevel of The Nation. This race has been important to me since the day it started. I intend to work a call shift tomorrow afternoon, for my friend, Ilya Sheyman. Now it seems that some think the race may be important for the entire country, as a bellwether of the future of progressive Democrats.
The article, Illinois Dem race a battle for party's future, struck me as a pretty thorough breakdown of the candidates and the race, and included very little that was downright stupid.
Here are a few teasers, though I commend the article to everyone:
“It’s clearly a bellwether for whether progressives or Blue Dogs are going to be the face of the Democratic Party heading into November,” said Sheyman. “It’s not just one of these districts to turn from red to blue. It’s a place where we can make a big difference for middle-class families.”
But before Democrats can train their full attention on freshman Republican Rep. Robert Dold, they must first choose which profile is a better fit for the battle: An assertive, take-no-prisoners liberal who cut his teeth in community organizing or a business-minded pragmatist whose instinct is to extend an olive branch to the other side.
Big finish, end of article, drum roll please:
Pre-primary fundraising reports charting the last two months of donations suggest Sheyman with the edge.
National assistance has allowed him to pull slightly ahead of Schneider in donations and Sheyman now holds a $57,000 cash-on-hand advantage.
Sheyman understands his fate will be read as much more than just a singular victory in a battleground House race.
“It sends a message to Democrats around the country, if you’re willing to stand up with backbone, you can win,” he said.
So, if you can vote here, great. Vote for Ilya. If you know someone else who can vote here, get them to vote for Ilya. It's a national story. He'll be the youngest member of the next Congress when he wins. Use social media. Tell all your friends, followers, stalkers, or whatever. Maybe they know someone who can vote here. We're running out of time. This is important.