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* Usually when DC reporters go on one of their patented Trump voter safari hunts, ridiculousness ensues. But Katie Glueck with McClatchy DC has authored a well-written story about the two major party candidates in the 12th Congressional District…
He is a top Democratic recruit, a man party officials have eyed for years and who is now running in one of the most competitive districts in the country. And on a Thursday night in late May, he stood before a room of irate Democrats, defending Donald Trump.
“Let me say this in response a little bit: I think there’s a lot of anger in the country,” Brendan Kelly told the gaggle of grizzled attendees here in southern Illinois’ 12th congressional district, as anti-Trump barbs began to fly.
The town hall gathering, held in a fluorescent-lit, wood-paneled meeting room where a Bud Light-emblazoned clock kept the time, was supposed to be about Social Security, pensions and Medicare. And for awhile, it was. But then the Trump-bashing began from the audience: “No one is a bigger liar in the country than the President or Sarah Sanders.” Trump is “an immoral, draft-dodging punk.”
At first, Kelly, a burly Navy veteran and current state’s attorney, tried to engage, aware that the insults represented a minority viewpoint in this district that backed Trump by 15 percentage points: “I’m running in a district that voted for President Trump, and also for [Democratic Sen.] Tammy Duckworth overwhelmingly. The same people. Why do you think that is?”
The piece doesn’t delve into the split between the urban/suburban Metro East portion of the district and the far more rural areas, but it’s still pretty darned good.
It’ll take you a while, but spend some time reading the whole thing.
posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Jul 3, 18 @ 10:37 am
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Four months to go. Bost is telling voters why they were smart to send him to Washington and he has evidence to back it up. Bost has an edge right now, in my opinion.
Comment by VanillaMan Tuesday, Jul 3, 18 @ 10:55 am
–“We’ve gone from hating Bush to hating Obama to hating Trump,” he added. “We’ve been hating for a long time, and I’m not sure that has necessarily helped anybody, particularly here.”–
Meh, for many, it’s all about the entertainment value. They just dig being angry.
Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Jul 3, 18 @ 11:05 am
Katie is a Northwestern (Medill) alum, is from the midwest, and has spent a fair amount of time in Illinois. She’s an incredibly talented reporter who pounds pavement instead of just surveying Twitter.
Comment by Empty Chair Tuesday, Jul 3, 18 @ 11:07 am
C.J. Baricevis
Bill Enyart
Charlie Howe
Cheryl Graff
John Rendleman
Gerald Hawkins
Don Strom
Robert Koehn
Derald Deering
Rich Whitney
Mic Middleton
Paula Bradshaw
Give any of these people a call and ask them how their race against Mike Bost turned out.
Comment by Saluki Tuesday, Jul 3, 18 @ 11:11 am
Thanks for the thread and posting the link to this article, Rich. No single news story can capture all the nuances and complexities of a congressional district election but the reporter seems to have done a very nice job here in capturing the candidates’ personalities and how they are choosing to address the local nature and specific issues –sometimes conflicting–of this Illinois race.
Comment by Responsa Tuesday, Jul 3, 18 @ 11:24 am
–Give any of these people a call and ask them how their race against Mike Bost turned out.–
A lot better than it did for that caged beagle.
That’s all swell, but did Bost ever get his people released from Egypt? That was a top priority at one point, if I recall.
Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Jul 3, 18 @ 11:32 am
Bost in a squeaker. 51-49.
Comment by BlueDogDem Tuesday, Jul 3, 18 @ 11:51 am
To the article. Bost is smart. He understands the value of a steelworker who just got his job back. Rauner not so.
Comment by BlueDogDem Tuesday, Jul 3, 18 @ 12:59 pm
Brendan Kelly is DCCC’s “dream” candidate. But then again Ron Summers was Frank Watson’s “dream” candidate against Gary Forby in 2004 and lost in the same year that Lloyd Karmeier won a Supreme Court seat, Gordon Maag was not retained, and President Bush won central and southern Illinois with ease. Kelly had better work because the district is big and diverse enough to not allow for someone to cakewalk into that seat.
Comment by Exclamation Point Deleted Tuesday, Jul 3, 18 @ 1:21 pm