Last week’s general election will give elected officials, consultants and political scientists more than enough to ponder for years to come.
And nowhere are the numbers more intriguing than in Chicago’s western suburbs. President-elect Barack Obama drew large percentages even in traditionally Republican areas. Yet his coattails weren’t long enough to help most Democrats running in local races.
It’s no surprise that Obama did very well in Chicago (85 percent of the total vote) and suburban Cook County (67 percent). Republican challenger U.S. Sen. John McCain racked up 14 percent in Chicago and 32 percent in suburban Cook.
But Obama also won majorities in both DuPage (55 percent) and Kane (52 percent) counties. Compare this to McCain’s 44 percent in DuPage and 46 percent in Kane.
I had a hunch that Obama would win the presidential election, but I didn’t expect him to defeat McCain in either DuPage or Kane. Perhaps Democrat Bill Foster’s win over Republican Jim Oberweis in the March special election in the 14th Congressional District should have indicated a shift in voting patterns.
Further proof of the shift was seen in the three DuPage County Board seats that went to Democrats last week; prior Democratic representation on the board was zero. Rita Gonzalez of Addison won in the County Board’s 1st District; Tony Michelassi of Aurora was elected in the 5th District; and Dirk Enger of Winfield won in the 6th District.
So with Obama defeating McCain in traditionally Republican strongholds and Democrats increasing their presence on the DuPage County Board by 300 percent, wouldn’t it stand to reason that Democrats would make a better showing in other races? You’d think it would, but electoral logic is in the mind of the voter.
U.S. Rep. Judy Biggert, R-13th District, of Hinsdale won re-election over Democratic challenger Scott Harper of Lockport and Green Party candidate Steve Alesch of Warrenville; while U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam, R-6th District, of Wheaton retained his seat over Democratic rival Jill Morgenthaler of Des Plaines. In addition, most local state legislators were re-elected rather easily.
This is a jumbled set of results, but let me take a stab at a general conclusion. The election was a referendum against the policies of President Bush on the national level, a vote against one-party rule in DuPage County and a rebuke of Gov. Rod Blagojevich on the state level.
Does any of that make sense?
Jerry Moore is a news editor with Suburban Life Publications and can be contacted at jmoore@mysuburbanlife.com. His blog, Suburban Shoutout, can be found at www.mysuburbanlife.com.
