Northwest suburban and Lake County voters Tuesday rejected David McSweeney’s argument that U.S. Rep. Philip Crane has overstayed his welcome in Congress as they renominated the 14-term Republican in the 8th Congressional District.
McSweeney conceded defeat Tuesday night after early results showed Crane, 67, of Wauconda, had opened up a 2-1 lead over him. McSweeney, a 32-year-old investment banker and Palatine Township trustee, had supported Crane in previous re-election bids.
Meanwhile, in the 9th Congressional District, which spreads across Chicago’s North Side and many northern suburbs, state Rep. Janice Schakowsky of Evanston narrowly led a field of three Democrats who waged an expensive and heated primary campaign for the right to replace outgoing Democrat Sidney Yates.
In the south suburbs, Gary S. Mueller of New Lenox was holding a comfortable lead over Steve Barach of Beecher in the Democratic primary in the 11th Congressional District. The winner will take on Republican incumbent Jerry Weller of Morris in November.
And in the 13th Congressional District in the west and southwest suburbs, state Reps. Judy Biggert (R-Hinsdale) and Peter Roskam (R-Naperville) squared off in a primary for the seat being vacated by retiring Republican Harris Fawell. Biggert held a narrow lead over Roskam with nearly three-quarters of the vote counted.
In his bid to unseat Crane, McSweeney wore out several pairs of shoes walking the precincts door to door, seeking anti-incumbent votes. McSweeney urged voters to send him to Congress in place of Crane, with a message that 28 years was too many. He also accused Crane of letting so many years in Washington tarnish the incumbent’s conservative beliefs.
“I have no regrets about the campaign. We ran a campaign on the issues,” McSweeney said Tuesday night. “It’s a year that favors incumbents, and the low voter turnout didn’t help either.”
As he has with other primary challengers, Crane ran a low-key campaign, arguing that his seniority and experience made him the best man to continue representing the heavily Republican district.
“I’m deeply gratified, and it’s a comfort to know the good folks kept the faith, withstanding the negative campaign I went through,” Crane said Tuesday night.
McSweeney dominated cable television channels with ads criticizing Crane for overstaying his welcome in Congress. He ripped into Crane for accepting money from political action committees and for taking numerous trips paid by lobbyists.
He contended that Crane had little to show for all his years in Washington. At the same time, McSweeney touted himself as a committed family man and business leader who would never forget his constituents while serving in Washington.
Crane promoted his legislative record and his advocacy of tax cuts and a flat-rate income tax.
McSweeney acknowledged that his fight against Crane was decidedly uphill. The congressman now has beaten back primary opponents in four consecutive elections. Crane also was endorsed by all of the Republican township organizations in the district.
In the 9th District, the candidates were vying to represent the ethnically diverse and liberal-leaning district, which runs along Chicago’s lakefront through Evanston, then takes in much of the city’s Northwest Side and nearby suburbs.
State Sen. Howard Carroll (D-Chicago) faced Schakowsky and J.B. Pritzker, an Evanston resident whose family owns the Hyatt Hotel chain.
Carroll, 55, and Schakowsky, 53, touted their legislative records in the General Assembly. Schakowsky appealed to female voters and promoted herself as an advocate for consumers.
Carroll also tried to win over women through his support of national catastrophic health insurance and educational and medical help for needy children.
Pritzker, 32, has never run for political office. But he worked as a legislative aide in Washington for two senators. He ran on his record of support for Jewish issues.
Pritzker, who lacked the name recognition of the other candidates, lent his campaign $900,000 and raised $650,000 more from other sources to buy TV ads. The three-way battle was flush with cash, but Pritzker far outspent Carroll and Schakowsky on television commercials.
The winner will face Leonard R. Reinebach in the November general election.
In the 11th District, which stretches from Chicago’s Southeast Side through Joliet and down to Kankakee, LaSalle and Grundy Counties, Mueller, a lawyer, had the blessing of George Sangmeister, who retired from the seat in 1994. Barach, who operates a toy-manufacturing firm, ran as an independent Democrat and tried to appeal to voters who are disenchanted with career politicians.
Fawell’s retirement sparked a brawl among five men and one woman for the Republican nomination in the 13th District, in southern DuPage County, southwest Cook County and northern Will County. The principal contenders were Biggert, of Hinsdale, and Roskam, of Naperville, who moved into the district to run for the seat. Fawell endorsed Biggert, a moderate who favors a balanced budget and abortion rights.
In other Chicago-area congressional races:
U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) defeated Caleb Davis Jr. in the 1st District to earn his fourth nomination to represent Chicago’s South Side and southern suburbs; first-term incumbent Danny Davis of Chicago fended off Wilner Jackson of Chicago in the West Side 7th District; Republican Robert Marshall of Burr Ridge was leading two other contenders for the right to take on U.S. Rep. William O. Lipinski, a seven-term Democrat.
