Adam Kinzinger Accepts Victory!

One of Governor Palin's combat veteran endorsees, Congressman-elect Adam Kinzinger spoke humbly in his acceptance of victory over incumbent Debbie Halvorson, last night. Kinzinger promised to truly represent the people of central and north central Illinois, ensure that government lives with its means, and embrace the private sector ability to create jobs. He also spoke of his desire to work to repeal the health care reform bill, kill cap and trade legislation, and restore true representation to the 11th Congressional District of Illinois.



H/T Illinois Review

Crossposted here.

Kinzinger Crushes Halvorson!

Illinois is poised to go red tonight with Republicans defeating incumbents in at least 3 Democratic districts! Captain Adam Kinzinger defeated incumbent, Debbie Halvorson by a resounding 15 points in the race for Illinois' 11th Congressional seat. On his Facebook page, Kinzinger writes, " Thanks to everyone for all of the hours you've dedicated over the last year to make this happen tonight. I won't let you down." Halvorson voted for the stimulus, cap and tax, and Obamacare, which Kinzinger would like to repeal.

Congrats to Congressman Kinzinger!

Crossposted here.

Adam Kinzinger on Health Care, Tax Cuts and the Economy

On Fox Chicago Sunday today, Republican candidate for the 11th Congressional District spoke about repealing and replacing the health care "reform" bill, deficit reduction, the "stimulus" bill, and the Bush tax cuts:



Kinzinger is running against incumbent, Debbie Halvorson. A recent article in the Pantagraph highlights the stark contrasts between Kinzinger and Halvorson:

The campaigns are in stark contrast on many major issues. The congresswoman voted for the federal economic stimulus legislation and health care reform and favors allowing the Bush-era tax cuts to expire for wealthy Americans.

Her opponent has called the economic and health care legislation faulty ideas, characterizing each as big government overstepping its reach and increasing the nation's debt. He wants tax cuts extended for all taxpayers.

"People are frustrated with an economy that is slow to recover, and the congresswoman shares in that frustration," said Halvorson spokesman Anthony DeAngelo. But, people should take a step back and see that there's been nine consecutive months of private-sector job growth, so the country is moving in the right direction, he said.

Halvorson is looking to legislation that "moves forward to create new jobs and continues to invest in infrastructure and clean energy," which in turn would lead to more jobs and economic development, said DeAngelo.

The congresswoman also wants to close loopholes that encourage businesses to relocate overseas, he said.

Kinzinger says the key difference between him and his opponent is their view on how to turn the economy around: "Congresswoman Halvorson buys into this philosophy that jobs are created by the government," he said.

Congress and the president can foster an environment conducive to job growth, creating fair regulations and a positive tax structure, but it's entrepreneurs who need to actually create jobs, he said.

Government-funded job creation only adds to the national debt, Kinzinger has said.

The Republican also said that rather than blocking companies from moving overseas, the government should find ways to make staying here more attractive.

Cross posted here and here.

Support for Adam Kinzinger Grows!

A recent poll conducted by the Hill shows that Adam Kinzinger has an 18 point lead over his opponent, Debbie Halvorson:

Right now, the outlook for Halvorson appears grim. The Hill/ANGA poll found she trails Kinzinger by 18 points — 49 percent to 31. Another 18 percent of likely voters remain undecided.

Kinzinger also leads among most major demographic groups. He’s ahead by 26 points among male voters and by 11 percent among females, and leads in all age groups by 10 points or more. Kinzinger also holds a wide lead with independent voters — 53 percent to 24.

Undecided voters lean toward the right; 27 percent described themselves as Republicans compared to 16 percent who said they are Democrats.

Kinzinger today also received the endorsement of the Chicago Tribune :

No place seems more ripe for change than the 11th District, which runs from the far southwest suburbs to Bloomington.
You have to wonder how someone who is personally so chipper as Democratic Rep. Debbie Halvorson, of Crete, can run the contemptuous and condescending ad campaign she has against Adam Kinzinger. Based on the ads, you’d think Kinzinger, of Manteno, is both a callow youth and an old-hack pol. “Young man, you have no idea what you’re doing,” one guy says in an ad, as though Kinzinger is about to run off and join the circus. A Halvorson mailer photo-shopped Kinzinger in front of a flag of communist China. Oh, spare us.

So here’s the story. Adam Kinzinger is 32. He was elected at age 20 to the McLean County Board and served for five years. After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, he signed up for the Air Force. He was deployed twice to Iraq and flew missions into Afghanistan. (Just as an aside, he once disarmed a man who had attacked a woman with a knife in Madison, Wis.)

The young man has accomplished a great deal.

And yet Halvorson’s ads derisively dismiss him as a “politician.” Halvorson, take note, spent 12 years in the Illinois Senate and the last two years in the U.S. House. Red ink, meet red ink.

Kinzinger is one of the most impressive new candidates we have seen this year. He puts a premium on energy independence, on creating a climate that encourages business to create jobs, on finding new markets for the employers who put people to work in the 11th District. He makes a sure-footed defense of his conservative views. Kinzinger is endorsed.

Cross posted here.

RELATED: This race was highlighted by CSPAN:

Illinois Congressional Candidates, Hayes and Pollak, Release Joint Ad

Republican Congressional candidates, Joel Pollak and Isaac Hayes, have released a joint ad. Pollak is seeking the 9th District seat, and Hayes is seeking the 2nd District seat. While both of these candidates are running in Democratic strongholds, Pollak's opponent, Jan Schakowsky, is under fire for her role in seeking to bail out Shorebank as brought to light by the Pollak campaign and the Central Illinois 912Project, and Hayes' opponent, Jesse Jackson Jr., has both political and personal scandals to address.




For more on Hayes, see here, and for more on Pollak, see here.

Crossposted here.

The Illinois GOP Is Focused on Three Key Races

The State Journal Register reports:

As a small business owner, Greg Hopkins is frustrated by the nation’s sour economy and torn on how to vote in November.

Two years ago, he was among the voters who helped Democrat Debbie Halvorson win a seat in Congress from a traditionally Republican district southwest of Chicago. But Hopkins is unhappy with the results, particularly watching banks get a bailout while he struggled to find financing for his business.

“People are looking for a change that has been promised that didn’t come,” he said at his New Lenox store, A Cozy Fireplace.

Now Hopkins is thinking about voting for Halvorson’s challenger, a little-known Air Force pilot who has Sarah Palin’s endorsement.

Halvorson, along with Democrats in two other Illinois congressional districts, is fighting for survival against a wave of voter frustration. Republicans hope to capture the majority of Illinois seats for the first time in seven years, helping the national GOP win control of the U.S. House.

Polls, intensifying Tea Party presence and an anti-Democrat national mood suggest it’s possible.
“It’s an important message to send to Obama: ’Here are some seats we’re going to take back that are right in your backyard,”’ said Tom Erickson, a National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman. “The failures of your administration are going to help take these seats back.”

Halvorson’s 11th District, which stretches from Chicago’s south suburbs to Bloomington, may be the Republicans’ chief target. Another is the 14th in Chicago’s western suburbs, where Rep. Bill Foster holds a seat once held by House Speaker Denny Hastert.

Finally, Republicans think they have a chance to defeat Rep. Phil Hare in the 17th, a sprawling district that includes both farm areas and small industrial cities like Decatur.

If Republicans take all three and no other seats change parties, the GOP would end up with 10 of Illinois’ 19 House seats.

...

Halvorson got a whopping 58 percent that year, compared to 35 percent for her GOP opponent. Things aren’t looking so good for her now.

Political analysts say the district is likely to go Republican. Her challenger, 32-year-old Adam Kinzinger, has backing from Palin and tea party groups.

“People are pretty frustrated in this district,” said Glenn Nixon, 40, a police officer who lives in Bourbonnais and is involved in the tea party movement. “Adam is sincere in his drive to serve America. He’s not going to kowtow. He’s going to make the hard decisions.”

...

The Democrats have tried to paint Republican candidates as extreme by calling attention to the unpopular ideas espoused by groups endorsing the challengers. Maybe Kinzinger wants to privatize Social Security, Halvorson suggests. Maybe Republican Bobby Schilling wants to eliminate the minimum wage, says Hare.

Hare won his seat in 2006 after Lane Evans retired, then he ran unopposed in 2008.

But that comfort level has been shaken, prompting Hare to run his first television ad in nearly four years. The Washington veteran’s ad scolds Washington for shipping American jobs overseas and accuses his opponent of backing trade deals and corporate tax breaks that would hurt workers further.

The challenger has targeted Hare’s vote for health care reform and his support for using an Illinois prison to house Guantanamo detainees, among other things. Schilling, who owns a pizzeria, said his focus is balancing the budget. He’s also pledged to reject any pay raises, use his own health insurance and serve only eight years.

“I’m not one of those Washington insiders,” he said. “People are looking for a clean break.”
Like Hare, Foster sometimes sounds like the challenger, not the incumbent.

He voted against a Democratic budget and cap-and-trade-legislation. The physicist calls his opponent, state Sen. Randy Hultgren, a “career politician” and argues Hultgren’s work for an investment firm contributed to the national collapse of housing values.

Hultgren rejects those allegations and accuses Foster of not being visible in the district. “He’s not there listening to people,” said Hultgren.

Read more here.

Adam Kinzinger, candidate for the 11th District, has been covered on C4C on multiple occasions. See here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Bobby Schilling, candidate for the 17th District, has also been covered. See here and here.

Let's meet Randy Hultgren, candidate for the 14th District. Hultgren currently is serving the Illinois state senate. He has the endorsement of several pro-life and pro second amendment groups as well as backing from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. You can read more about Senator Hultgren here. His first election ad is displayed below.





Crossposted here.

Adam Kinzinger responds to Halvorson's Smears

As was reported over the weekend, in the race for the 11th Congressional district seat in Illinois, Adam Kinzinger was portrayed as a Nazi by supporters of his opponent, Debbie Halvorson, last week. Kinzinger has responded to these smears with this ad:



This seat is shown to be either leaning GOP or likely GOP by the Rothenberg Political Report, the 538 blog at the New York Times, CQ Roll Call, and Real Clear Politics. The Cook Political report has the seat as a toss up. Internal polling shows that Kinzinger is up 51-40 over Halverson. See more here.

Cross posted here.