The Beacon News reports that 14th Congressional District Congressman Dennis Hastert will decide in the next two to three months whether he will seek re-election in 2008. Mike Stokke, Hastert’s Deputy Chief of Staff for the last decade, provided the timeline.
On the Democratic side, Geneva attorney Jotham Stein has already announced he will run and has assembled his campaign. Geneva businessman Joe Serra, who briefly ran in the 2006 primary, has indicated he plans to run again. Aurora State Representative Linda Chapa LaVia has created a congressional committee for fundraising, and is poised to run, but has said she will not run against Hastert should he seek re-election.
On the Republican side, both Aurora State Senator Chris Lauzen and Batavia State Representative Tim Schmitz have indicated they are interested in running for the 14th District seat. North Aurora businessman and former gubernatorial and twice U.S. senatorial candidate James “Jim” Oberweis is among some of the other Republicans thought to be interested. Oswego State Representative and House Minority Leader Tom Cross, once viewed as a possible Hastert successor, has indicated he is not interested in running. Cross, a relative moderate and one of the stronger Illinois GOP prospects for higher office, is thought to have his sights on the governor’s mansion.
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[…] candidate Jim Oberweis plans to set up an exploratory committee for the 14th congressional seat in anticipation of Congressman Dennis Hastert retiring. Oberweis said he would form the committee in the next couple of weeks - and will run only if […]
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