2010 Illinois's 17th congressional district election

The 2010 Illinois's 17th congressional district election was held on November 2, 2010 to determine who would represent Illinois's 17th District in the 112th United States Congress. The seat contested was located in western and parts of central Illinois. Democratic incumbent Phil Hare had held the seat since 2006 and was running for re-election. The Republican nominee was Bobby Schilling. The Green Party nominee was Roger K. Davis.[1]

2010 Illinois's 17th congressional district election
November 2, 2010
 
Candidate Bobby Schilling Phil Hare
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 104,583 85,454
Percentage 52.58 42.96
Representative before election

Phil Hare
Democratic

 Elected Representative

Bobby Schilling
Republican

Schilling won the election in an upset with almost 53% of the vote.[2](p49)

Race

Background

Hare was elected in 2006 with 57% of the vote and was unopposed in United States elections, 2008. Schilling is a restaurateur and owns Saint Giuseppe's Heavenly Pizza in East Moline, Illinois, which he started in 1997. Both were unopposed in their respective primaries.[3]

Once thought to be safe by political analysts, Hare's seat was in trouble in the summer of 2010 as Schilling made his challenge.[4] The New York Times's final rating was "Tossup",[5] as was that of CQ Politics.[6] RealClearPolitics's final rating was "Leans Democrat".[7] FiveThirtyEight gave Schilling a 63% chance of winning.[5] Politico rated it #5 on its list of "hottest House races in the country".[8]

Though both were unopposed in their respective primaries, primary elections were still held as voters went to the polls to vote in other races. Out of 64,141 total votes cast in each party for the February 2nd Illinois primary, Hare took 32,496 votes (50.66%) to Schilling's 31,645 (49.34%).[1][9] "After the results of yesterday’s election, one thing is clear: voters are ready for a clean break from the failed ideas of the past," Schilling said after the primary. "Voter turnout shows that my Democrat opponent and I nearly had identical votes." Because of the close results, National Review said the race is "worth keeping an eye on."[10]

General election campaign

National organizations were heavily involved in the race, with the National Republican Congressional Committee injecting $350,000 into the race and the conservative American Future Fund buying $500,000 worth of ads in the district, both on behalf of Schilling.[11] The Republican National Committee funded the opening of a "Victory Center" similar to that used for the campaign of Sen. Scott Brown in 2010.[12] On Hare's side, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee bought $90,000 worth of airtime and SEIU bought $317,000 for similar commercials alleging Schilling wants to send jobs overseas, which the Schilling campaign denies.[11][13]

Schilling's campaign outraised Hare's by $51,000 in Q3 2010 and had more cash on hand than Hare as of September 30.[14][15][16]

All three candidates participated in one televised debate on October 26, which covered topics ranging from social security, taxes, and job creation to abortion and stem cell research.[17]

Endorsements

Schilling received the endorsements of the Illinois Federation for the Right to Life PAC,[18] the Republican National Coalition for Life PAC,[19] the Quincy Tea Party,[20] Congressman Aaron Schock,[21] Congressman John Shimkus, Sgt. John F. Baker, Jr., recipient of the Medal of Honor,[22] Rep. Michele Bachmann,[23] CatholicVote PAC,[24] former Governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney,[25] John Deere PAC,[26] the Chicago Tribune,[27] and the United States Chamber of Commerce.[28]

Hare was endorsed by the Sierra Club[29] and Veterans of Foreign Wars.[27]

Fundraising

Figures are final as of December 31, 2010.

Candidate (Party) Receipts Disbursements Cash On Hand Debt
Phil Hare (D) $1,364,578 $1,759,078 $1,837 $11,487
Bobby Schilling (R) $1,127,490 $1,117,731 $9,759 $54,039
Roger K. Davis (G) $0 $0 $0 $0
Source: Federal Election Commission[16]

Polling
Poll Source Dates Administered Phil Hare (D) Bobby Schilling (R) Roger K. Davis (G) Undecided
The Hill[30] October 12–14, 2010 38% 45% - 14%
NRCC internal poll via Washington Post[31] Unavailable 41% 44% Unavailable Unavailable
Public Opinion Strategies[32] September 26–27, 2010 38% 37% -- --
Tarrance Group via National Journal[33] September 23–25, 2010 43% 44% -- --
We Ask America[34] September 8, 2010 38% 41% -- 17%
Magellan Strategies via NRO[35] July 12, 2010 32% 45% -- 23%
Public Opinion Strategies via NRO[36] Unavailable 33% 31% 7% 30%
We Ask America[37] February 18, 2010 39% 32% 4% 26%

General election results
Illinois's 17th district general election, November 2, 2010[2](p49)
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Bobby Schilling 104,583 52.58
Democratic Phil Hare 85,454 42.96
Green Roger K. Davis 8,861 4.46
Total votes 198,898 100

References
  1. Eric Timmons (2010-02-03). "Hare and Schilling ready for battle - News - The Register-Mail - Galesburg, IL". Galesburg.com. Archived from the original on 2010-11-23. Retrieved 2015-05-19.
  2. "General Election of November 2, 2010" (PDF). Illinois State Board of Elections. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 6, 2011. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  3. "Many state seats unopposed in primary - News - Journal Star - Peoria, IL". Pjstar.com. 2010-01-19. Retrieved 2015-05-19.
  4. "Cook Political Report Upgrades IL-17 to Toss Up - Illinois Review". Illinoisreview.typepad.com. 2010-09-16. Retrieved 2015-05-19.
  5. Brown, Theresa (2010-12-10). "Illinois 17th District Race Profile - Election 2010 - The New York Times". Elections.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2015-05-19.
  6. "Race Detail Display Page : Roll Call". Cqpolitics.com. 2015-05-15. Archived from the original on 2012-07-31. Retrieved 2015-05-19.
  7. "Election 2010 - Illinois 17th District - Schilling vs. Hare". RealClearPolitics.com. 2010-03-18. Retrieved 2015-05-19.
  8. "12 hottest House races to watch - Mike Allen and Alexander Burns and Alexander Trowbridge". Politico.Com. Retrieved 2015-05-19.
  9. "Schilling Competitive with Hare in Primary Turn-Out". Archive.constantcontact.com. 2010-02-04. Retrieved 2015-05-19.
  11. "GOP hungrily eyes Hare's seat". Thehill.com. 2012-12-23. Retrieved 2015-05-19.
  12. "Bobby Schilling". Archived from the original on October 8, 2010. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
  13. Tibbetts, Ed. "On the Campaign Trail with Ed Tibbetts". Campaigntrail.qctimes.com. Archived from the original on 2010-10-15. Retrieved 2015-05-19.
  14. Archived October 18, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  15. "Constant Contact : Web Page Expired". Campaign.r20.constantcontact.com. 2014-06-02. Retrieved 2015-05-19.
  17. "Hare, Schilling clash in television debate". Qctimes.com. 2010-10-26. Retrieved 2015-05-19.
  18. "Illinois Federation for Right to Life Political Action Committee : 2010 Illinois Primary Election Page—Endorsements". Archived from the original on July 13, 2011. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
  19. "2010 Election Candidates responses to the RNC/Life Questionnaire". Rnclife.org. 2010-11-05. Archived from the original on 2015-05-23. Retrieved 2015-05-19.
  20. Archived January 10, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  21. "mywebpal.com/news". Archived from the original on April 2, 2011. Retrieved September 21, 2010.
  23. "YouTube". YouTube.com. Retrieved 2015-05-19.
  24. White, John. "CatholicVote.org". CatholicVote.org. Retrieved 2015-05-19.
  25. "Mitt Romney Endorses Bobby Schilling for Congress". Aledotimesrecord.com. 2010-09-24. Archived from the original on 2012-03-07. Retrieved 2015-05-19.
  26. "Deere PAC chooses sides in tight congressional race". Archived from the original on October 8, 2010. Retrieved October 6, 2010.
  27. Tibbetts, Ed. "On the Campaign Trail with Ed Tibbetts". Campaigntrail.qctimes.com. Archived from the original on 2010-10-10. Retrieved 2015-05-19.
  28. "Page 2: Vote 2010 Elections: The Rookies From Pizza Parlor to the Halls of Congress". Abcnews.go.com. 2010-10-13. Retrieved 2015-05-19.
  29. "SIERRA CLUB ENDORSES PHIL HARE FOR CONGRESS". Archived from the original on August 26, 2010. Retrieved September 21, 2010.
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  31. "The Fix - Democratic outside group launches Washington, West Virginia ads". Retrieved 2015-05-22.
  32. "Scot Reader on Twitter". Retrieved 2015-05-22.
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