Great Divides
What will heated congressional primary mean for special election in March?
February 17, 2008
(Beacon News) — It's a cycle as old as politics itself.
In the primary elections, Republicans fight Republicans and Democrats fight Democrats, tearing each other apart in the race to be the nominee.
But when that race is over, the parties come together behind the voters' choice, presenting a united front in the general election.
But there usually is an ocean of time between those elections. That's not the case in the 14th Congressional District this year -- there are only 20 days left before the March 8 special election, which will decide who fills Dennis Hastert's seat in the House of Representatives until the end of the year.
With only 32 days between the primary and special elections, losing candidates don't have quite the same luxury of time to lick their wounds and line up with the party. And with a particularly heated race on the Republican side and a Democratic candidate unwilling to concede, voters may see the effects of two split parties on March 8.
By far, the biggest wounds were felt on the Republican side, as state Sen. Chris Lauzen and entrepreneur Jim Oberweis slung barbs at one another for weeks on end. Oberweis secured Hastert's support and spent more than $1 million on his campaign, while Lauzen tapped into a network of grass-roots volunteers.
Both men took off the gloves in the month before the primary, sending out negative mail pieces and taking out mud-slinging radio ads. Lauzen accused Oberweis of trying to buy his way into office. Oberweis questioned Lauzen's judgment and accused him of being a "career politician," casting Lauzen's 15 years in the General Assembly in a negative light.
In the end, Oberweis won both the regular and special primary elections decisively. But while Lauzen has called Oberweis to concede, he has not publicly offered his support in the special election. In fact, in a letter to supporters sent last week, Lauzen criticized Oberweis for being willing to "say or do anything to get elected ... no matter how personally destructive or untrue."
Waiting for apology
It's ordinarily expected that the losing candidate in a primary election will come out publicly and support the winner. Lauzen said he is willing to help Oberweis, but wants an apology first.
"All I ask of Jim is to correct the record," Lauzen said. "I'm not corrupt; I don't buy people off. I'm happy to help as soon as he repairs the damage he's done to my reputation."
Lauzen mentioned a couple of specifics. During the campaign, Oberweis accused Lauzen of poor judgment for taking money from a company under investigation by the Illinois attorney general's office. The company, International Profit Associates of Buffalo Grove, is also at the center of a massive federal sexual harassment lawsuit.
In December, Lauzen returned nearly $100,000 in contributions to International Profit Associates and its owner, John Burgess, but the Oberweis camp questioned why Lauzen took the money in the first place and compared him to several Democrats who had also taken IPA money, including Sen. Barack Obama and Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
Additionally, the Oberweis camp was critical of Kane County Republican Chairman Dennis Wiggins for accepting a paid position with Lauzen's campaign. Oberweis spokesman Bill Pascoe called for Wiggins' resignation from the Kane Republicans, but Wiggins declined, choosing instead to take a leave of absence until after the primary election.
Pascoe accused Wiggins of "(selling) himself to the highest bidder," a statement which upset both Lauzen and Wiggins.
"He attacked my integrity," Wiggins said of Oberweis. "I've worked for the party for 45 years. He owes me a hell of an apology."
Split in the ranks
Wiggins said that the rift between Lauzen and Oberweis may end up being a factor in the upcoming elections. He said he knows several Lauzen supporters who will not support Oberweis; and while he believes the Republicans will win in March, he's not so sure about November -- particularly if Obama is the Democratic nominee for president.
"Will the party support Jim? It depends on what part of the party you're talking about," Wiggins said. "There is a split, and some people have caused that split."
Ron Petrucci, for example, is a St. Charles resident who has voted Republican for his entire life. And yet he's undecided about how he will vote in March. Petrucci has supported Lauzen in the past and voted for him in the primary, and he said he's upset over the negative tone of Oberweis' campaign.
Petrucci said he doesn't think he can vote for Bill Foster, the Democratic candidate, but he's still not sure what he's going to do.
Party coming together?
Ask Pascoe, and he'll say that the party is already lined up behind Oberweis. All four state senators who endorsed Lauzen have now endorsed Oberweis, and the campaign recently announced it has secured the support of former Sen. Peter Fitzgerald, who also endorsed Lauzen in the primary.
"Every indication we have is that all elements of the party are coming together, as Republicans almost always do," Pascoe said.
Lauzen's letter was posted on www.illinoisreview.com on Thursday, and many of those leaving comments have taken the senator to task for not endorsing Oberweis.
Oberweis has noted that he's been on the losing end of elections before, and healing sometimes takes awhile. This is only Lauzen's second lost election since beginning his political career in 1992 -- he also lost to Democrat Dan Hynes in the state comptroller race in 1998.
"Senator Lauzen is unaccustomed to coming up short," Pascoe said. "It's a tough place to be, and he'll need some time."
Dems looking more unified
But time is a luxury neither party has if they want to consolidate their voter base before March 8.
The Democrat race was closer than the Republican slugfest -- Bill Foster defeated John Laesch in the special primary by about 2,700 votes, but with several hundred ballots still to be counted, Laesch holds out hope that he can overcome a 355-vote deficit in the general primary.
If Laesch prevails under that scenario, it would mean that Foster would face Oberweis in March, and Laesch would face him in November. That's a possibility that Foster's team considers unlikely at best.
"We're getting Laesch supporters calling us, asking to volunteer, asking for yard signs," said Foster spokesman Andrew Dupuy. "And we've identified not just Laesch supporters, but independent and Republican voters flocking to Bill Foster."
Laesch said he is not concerned about splitting the party, although he has not offered an official endorsement of Foster's candidacy. Barring Democratic voters simply staying home, Laesch believes Foster can muster the party's vote.
"I can't imagine anyone who likes me supporting Jim Oberweis," Laesch said.
While Pascoe believes the still-undecided Democratic nomination for November could have an effect on the vote in March, he said the Oberweis camp isn't counting on it as an advantage.
"You never want to have to rely for victory on your opponent's mistakes," he said.
But Dupuy said the primary may be more of a factor for Republicans than Pascoe realizes. He believes the divide is deep among the Republicans, and if Democrats can muster the same high numbers they pulled on Feb. 5, he thinks Foster could win the day.
"If you compare both parties, the fracture in their party is very deep," Dupuy said. "The Democrats are united."