From the Bill Foster Campaign:
“Bill understands that we must continue to bring about change in Washington if we’re going to solve the problems of our day—both foreign and domestic.”
Today, Congressman Phil Hare (D-Rock Island) announced his endorsement of Bill Foster for Congress in Illinois’ 14th District.
“I’m proud to announce my support for Bill Foster,” Hare said. “As a businessman and a scientist, Bill understands that preparing our workforce to compete in a global economy and strengthening our depleted manufacturing base can go hand in hand. He opposes tax breaks for outsourcing, is a champion of research and development, and believes every Illinoisan deserves access to a quality education.”
Foster is running for the seat of retiring Speaker Dennis Hastert. Hastert stepped down as Speaker after Republicans were soundly defeated in the 2006 election.
“Speaker Hastert presided over a ballooning national deficit, a war in Iraq with no end in sight, and a Congress that refused to provide oversight of itself or the Bush Administration,” Hare said. “Bill understands that we must continue to bring about change in Washington if we’re going to solve the problems of our day—both foreign and domestic.”
Rep. Hare was elected in 2006 to the 17th district, which borders Illinois’ 14th. Since his election, he has been a strong voice for changing course in Iraq, honoring our nation’s veterans, and pursuing economic policies that help Illinois’ working families make ends meet.
“I’m proud to have Congressman Hare’s support, and look forward to joining him so we can continue to demand that the federal government works for all Americans,” Foster said. “We need to change course, and we need to break the logjam on progress back in Washington.”
The 14th district – historically a Republican stronghold – is in play this year—showing up on Karl Rove’s list of endangered Republican districts. Democrats picked up 30 House seats in the 2006 election.
Rep. Hare’s endorsement comes just a few weeks after Foster received the support of State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias.
Comments 2
Those are some good endorsements for him. Do you think local endorsements carry more weight even if the name reconition is less overall?
Posted 28 Sep 2007 at 8:26 pm ¶Hi OneMan,
You ask a good question - here’s my take:
Every endorsement (presumably) helps with one or more voting/influencing/financially supporting constituencies. Which endorsements ‘carry the most weight’ are to some degree dependent on the campaign and the candidate.
Barack Obama endorsing Alexi Giannoulias for State Treasurer was a big deal because it gave Alexi a state-level (if federal) powerhouse endorsement to counter Michael Madigan (and the state party’s) preference for State Treasurer. Would Bill Clinton endorsing Alexi have been a bigger deal? I’d guess not as big a deal, despite Bill Clinton being the last Democratic president - although it might have mattered a lot, at the time, for fundraising with big donors. Part of it is a credibility issue of sorts - who really would believe that Clinton knew much about a state-level treasurer’s race? Did other more local-level endorsements (subsections of the state) help Alexi? Probably they did by helping gather votes and offering exposure/bringing foot soldiers to a candidate running for an office few voters likely think much about one way or the other.
Is there a difference between local, state and national office as to what endorsements are likely to matter most? Probably. What about different candidates/election years? Probably they factor in too.
So I’ll answer by saying that I think context matters a lot with endorsements. Bill Foster being endorsed by a state-level officeholder (Alexi Giannoulias) as well as a local congressman (Phil Hare) helps cover a lot of bases.
Posted 02 Oct 2007 at 7:32 pm ¶Trackbacks & Pingbacks 1
[…] primary’ for Bill in the 14th congressional race. Foster has already been endorsed by Congressman Phil Hare, State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, and State Comptroller Dan […]
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