Democrats in the Illinois 19th Congressional district think Republican incumbent John Shimkus is more vulnerable than ever this year which is why three candidates are running in the Democratic primary. Shimkus' involvement in the Foley page scandal cover-up, the violation of his term limit pledge, his offensive statements about Iraq, and the likelihood that 2008 will be a good year to unseat a Bush rubber-stamp gives new hope to local residents who are tired of John Shimkus. So far only one candidate, Joe McMenamin, shows signs of being a serious threat to Shimkus.
One indication of his strength as a candidate is the support he's receiving from Senator Dick Durbin. Durbin states in letter on McMenamin's
campaign website:
"Joe thinks the ideas presented by Virginia Sen. Jim Webb's 2007 Response to the State of the Union address represents a powerful political agenda: bringing this recklessly entered war in Iraq to a close; keeping our manufacturers and workers on U.S. soil; and empowering a faltering middle class by addressing such issues as rising medical costs and tuition rates.
Joe represents a new wave of Democratic Veterans becoming involved in politics. Having recently served our country in Afghanistan he cares deeply about U.S. foreign policies. He thinks the Iraq War was a huge historical mistake and is aware of its negative impact on our international reputation. He believes we need a new national purpose. Global issues such as climate change and creating alternative energy sources are also motivating him to get active."
In addition to support from Democratic leaders, McMenamin showed early organizational strength by collecting petitions to get on the ballot from all 30 counties in the district. That's a significant accomplishment in a district as large as this one. His
FEC quarterly report shows he raised over $71,000 by the end of September and he has been fundraising aggressively since then.
Joe has two opponents in the primary. One is Daniel Davis who raised only $5,152 by the end of the last quarter and shows little evidence of an organization. He has what might be the most peculiar website I've ever seen for a Democratic Congressional candidate. The site,
http://www.runwithgiants.com/ is well designed but he's oddly preoccupied with giants. That's right. Giants.
His other primary opponent didn't raise enough money to file a report in the last quarter and once lost badly running against Shimkus in the Republican primary.
McMenamin is off to a good start and has strong support. What he needs now more than anything else is to
raise more money by the end of this reporting period which ends December 31. The holidays are a tough time to give but
donating now instead of waiting until next year will make a real difference for his campaign.
Cross-posted from
www.thereisaway.us
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