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Thursday, March 31, 2005

IL-6 Christine Cegelis Open Seat Bid in 05/06

Posted by Tim Tagaris

Neighboring my sometimes residence of Palatine, Illinois (just outside of Chicago), there is a race brewing in the 6th Congressional District of Illinois. In 2004, with the support of grassroots organizations in Nortern Illinois, like Democracy for America, Christine Cegelis challenged congressional dinosaur Henry Hyde for his seat in the House of Representatives.

When the smoke cleared, Christine fared so much better than anyone would have even imagined in 2004, earned 44.2% of the vote, and turned the heads of insiders and outsiders across the country. She is back at it and already campaigning for 2006.

She should be the Democratic nominee. The votes that she gained were votes earned. They were earned because of her committment to grassroots, and even netroots (to some extent) outreach. The only question is, who will be the Republican nominee, and when will the election take place?

Henry Hyde is going to retire. Either that or he is going to appointed as the Ambassador to the Holy See. Whenever the race is, what is clear is that Christine will be battling for an open seat, probably against Republican Peter Roskum. As such, her campaign is already in full-swing and she is reaching out to the netroots in a meaningful way. She has already posted a few times on DailyKos, and today has a new entry up on Mydd.

If you get a chance, and want to learn more about the 6th CD in Illinois, take a look at her recent post.

Much more on Christine at SSP over the next year and a half. The race is certain to be one targeted by the DCCC. If you are from Illinois, consider volunteering to help, they already have meaningful opportunities for involvement available.

Posted at 03:08 PM in 2006 Elections, 2006 Elections - House, Illinois, Open Seats | Technorati