Democrat Bill Foster got a solid win in yesterday’s election to keep his seat in Illinois’ 11th Congressional District.
Moments after his opponent, former Republican state representative Darlene Senger, delivered her concession speech, Bill Foster strode into his election night party at the Bolingbrook Holiday Inn with the sounds of the Jackson 5 singing, “please baby, give me one more chance” playing over the sound system. Surrounded by a crowd of supporters, an obviously exhilarated Foster declared victory.
Foster thanked his opponent for her commitment to public service, and lauded the coalition of people, young and old, labor and business, from all over the district that came together for the victory. And he thanked his friends and his wife for their support.
Foster said his win was a win for many of the causes he’s espoused, including raising the minimum wage, encouraging manufacturing, removing financial barriers to college, and affordable health care for all.
On paper, this race should have been a shoe-in for Foster, with a district that included two democratic strongholds, Aurora and Joliet. But the race was a tight one for much of the campaign, with a few polls even calling it a tossup. Foster says, in the end, though, it came down to the issues, and a clear choice for voters.
“Things like women’s reproductive rights, like guns, like raising the minimum wage. You just go on down the list,” Foster said. “These are things that are very important to a lot of people and we differed on them. So in the end the voters got a good opportunity to make their preferences known.”
The earliest returns had Senger up slightly, but that soon changed, and Foster built a solid lead that held as the night wore on, ending up with 54 percent of the vote.
After this election, Republicans hold an even tighter grip on Congress. That doesn’t bode well for many of the Democratic ideas that Foster embraces. But Foster says, he thinks some things can be accomplished.
“I have not yet given up on this session of Congress. We still have an opportunity to pass comprehensive immigration reform. And this is something that’s supported by a vast majority of Americans. I think something like 78 percent of people in Illinois support it, and we have the opportunity to simply bring up for an up or down vote the bill that’s already passed the Senate.“
Thanks to the voters, he’ll have two more years to try.