US & World

Democrat Wins Hastert's House Speaker Seat

CHICAGO (CBS) ― Democrat Bill Foster snatched former House Speaker Dennis Hastert's congressional seat in a closely watched special election that gave the longtime Republican district to the Democrats.

Foster won 52 percent of the vote compared 48 percent for Republican Jim Oberweis. With 564 of 568 precincts reporting, Foster had 50,947 votes to Oberweis' 46,125.

Democrationc Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Chris Van Hollen said in a statement that the win is a stunning rejection of the Bush Administration, CBS station WBBM in Chicago reports.

Foster's special election win means he will fill the remainder of Hastert's term until it ends next January.

This marks the first time in decades, a Democrat has won the 14th Congressional seat, which was held until last year by former House Speaker Dennis Hastert.

The 14th District includes most of Kane County and stretches west almost to the Mississippi River.

Democrat Bill Foster, a nuclear physicist and entrepreneur, was locked in a tight race against perennial candidate Republican Jim Oberweis, the milk and ice cream titan. Hastert endorsed Oberweis, while presidential candidate Barack Obama lent his support to Foster.

In the final stretch of the campaign, the candidates accused each other of lying and mudslinging, to the point where lawsuits and election complaints were filed.

First, Oberweis filed suit against the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, saying the claim in a Foster campaign commercial that Oberweis Dairy hired undocumented immigrants is false.

The ads referenced newspaper stories from 2005 about an Illinois Labor Department complaint filed by a Chicago-based immigrant-rights group. The group claimed two illegal Mexican immigrants were paid less than half the minimum wage to clean Oberweis Dairy stores in Cook County.
In 2005, Oberweis responded to the allegations by saying the workers in question were employees of a local cleaning company hired to clean stores after hours. Dairy President Joe Oberweis said Friday the dairy was never served with a labor complaint and is not sure one was ever filed.

Oberweis also says he's been smeared as anti-immigrant in an anonymous flyer hitting the many Latino households in the 14th Congressional District.

Oberweis replied that he has never had a position on or a problem with immigration. His campaign countered with an ad where he accuses Foster of trying to solve all kinds of problems by "throwing money" at them.

"I think one of the more effective ads of the campaign has been, you know, the comment made by Bill Foster saying government can through money at any problem," said Oberweis supporter Ryan McLaughlin. "I think the Illinois experience has shown us that's absolutely the wrong thing to be done."

Foster has said the quote used in Oberweis' ad was taken out of context.

Then on Friday, the DCCC filed a complaint against Oberweis with the Federal Election Commission. In the complaint, the DCCC claimed that Oberweis illegally benefited from resources from his dairy when he filed the "frivolous" lawsuit.

Previously, the Federal Election Commission sanctioned and fined Oberweis for using corporate resources from his dairy company for his campaign, the DCCC said.

And Foster is piggybacking a Chicago Tribune attack that Oberweis used actors instead of real people in a mailer.

"Oberweis is using fake numbers and fake people to smear me in the mail," Foster said.

Some have said it's been a bitter campaign, but Bill Foster, the Democratic candidate says he was determined to make the end a little sweeter. But if you take a closer look, you might find Foster's strategy in media messaging this week has been similar to Hillary Clinton's. We've heard her bash Obama, then credit him for having a few good ideas. And each day, he's put on numerous slams against Oberweis and at the same time his campaign has sent out negative flyers and attack ads.

"Voters of this district are going to get the chance to speak on a national stage about whether they want to see a continuation of Bush's policies...or whether they want to see them change," Foster said.

Foster says his campaign has changed over the past week or so from lashing out at his opponent, Jim Oberweis, to a more positive approach focusing on strengths and spotlighting an endorsement from Senator and presidential candidate Barack Obama.

Foster is filling a seat held for 21 years by Hastert. In order to stay there full term, he'll have to win a rematch in November.

By late Tuesday, both campaigns had already spent more than $1 million each. Mostly, the money was used to pay for the television ads that have run constantly, especially in the last three days.

Republican presidential candidate John McCain made a stop in Sugar Grove last month to campaign for Oberweis, raising $250,000. Both candidates have spent a considerable amount of money from their personal fortunes to finance their campaigns.

The current term ends in January 2009, and as of now, Hastert and Oberweis will face each other again in November. But Democrat John Laesch, who lost to Foster in the February primary, has asked for a recount of votes in 51 precincts, claiming that the regular primary showed Foster only won by 398 votes.

John Laesch, the Democrat who lost dual primary elections to Bill Foster in February, has formally asked for a recount of votes that could make him the party's 14th Congressional District nominee for the November general election.

His challenge pertains only to the regular primary's results that show a 398-vote win by Foster. The pair's vote totals are within 5 percent of each other, making the tally eligible for a discovery recount.

Hastert's is one of three open seats in Illinois this year because of GOP retirements. Reps. Jerry Weller, who represents a district from the suburban sprawl south of Chicago to the farmland of central Illinois, and Ray LaHood of Peoria are also stepping down. Democrats' chances to pick up one of those seats improved when the Republican nominee to replace Weller dropped out of the race.

(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)