The Political Inquirer

In addition to winning a seat in Congress in Illinois 14th Congressional District where Foster defeated Oberweis, the Democrats are favored to win Jerry Weller’s seat in the Illinois 11th Congressional District. Recently, the Republican nominee, Tim Baldermann dropped out of the race leaving the Republicans scrambling to replace him.

The Republican mayor of New Lenox dropped out of the 11th Congressional District race Friday, leaving the GOP scrambling for a replacement in what had been expected to be one of the nation’s most contested seats.

Tim Baldermann, the Republican nominee to succeed retiring Rep. Jerry Weller (R-Ill.), said he concluded during a recent European vacation that he could not run for Congress while keeping his other commitments. Baldermann, 41, also is Chicago Ridge’s police chief and a married father of five, with the oldest a college freshman.

“I came to the realization that I wasn’t able to do all of it and realized it was better to put my obligations ahead of my personal ambitions,” Baldermann said Friday after announcing he would file formal withdrawal documents Monday.

The Republicans will be hard pressed to replace Baldermann on the ballot with a quality candidate that can defeat Halvorson. State Senator Halvorson will surely have the support of Senator Barack Obama having served in the Illinois Senate with her.

Another District to watch is IL-10, with Dan Seals challenging Congressman Mark Kirk. Seals has a good chance of unseating Kirk this time, having come very close in 2006.

This could be a great year to be a Democrat. Reading on Walden Bookstore.