2000 Illinois's 1st congressional district election
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The 2000 United States House of Representatives election for the 1st district in Illinois took place on November 7, 2000 to elect a representative from Illinois's 1st congressional district for the 107th United States Congress. Incumbent Democratic Representative Bobby Rush faced a primary challenge from Illinois Senator and future President Barack Obama. Rush defeated Obama 61 percent to 30 percent, with other candidates combining for the remaining nine percent. Rush later defeated his Republican opponent, Raymond Wardingley, 88 percent to 12 percent, ensuring his reelection. Subsequent to this election, Obama was elected to the Senate in 2004, and later elected President in 2008.
District
Background
Rush was involved in the
Obama, at age 38, was a lecturer at the University of Chicago and a two-term state Senator. Though friends, including Terry Link, his colleague in the Illinois Senate, warned Obama against challenging Rush, as there was no obvious reason to displace him to the voters,[1] Obama ran anyway because of his frustration with what he claimed was Republican obstructionism in the Illinois Legislature and the feeling Rush was representing the district less well than he could.[1] Also challenging Rush were Donne Trotter, a state senator, and George Roby, a police officer.[4] Raymond Wardingley, a perennial candidate who worked as a clown, ran unopposed for the Republican nomination.[4][5]
Obama's campaign
Obama entered the race in late September 1999, six months before the primary, stating that Rush represented "a politics that is rooted in the past, a reactive politics that isn’t good at coming up with concrete solutions." He promised to build consensus and lead coalitions involving people outside of the black community to reduce crime, improve health care coverage, promote economic development and expand educational opportunities.[1]
Early polling showed Rush's name recognition started off at 90 percent, with Obama's at 11 percent.[1] Rush had 70 percent approval, while Obama had 8 percent approval. In the head-to-head matchup, forty-seven percent of the people polled favored Rush, 10 percent favored Obama, and 5 percent supported Trotter, who is also African American. Most of Obama's support came from White Americans.[1]
In mid-October, Rush's son, Huey, was murdered, leading Obama to put his campaign on hold.
As Obama lived in Hyde Park, a more affluent neighborhood with a higher percentage of White voters than the rest of the district, the narrative of the race became "the Black Panther against the professor."[1] Obama frequently came off as uptight.[7] Rush criticized Obama: "Barack Obama went to Harvard and became an educated fool. We’re not impressed with these folks with these Eastern elite degrees. Barack is a person who read about the civil-rights protests and thinks he knows all about it."[8] Trotter said, "Barack is viewed in part to be the white man in blackface in our community."[7][9] Though the Chicago Tribune endorsed Obama,[4] many, including local officials, President Bill Clinton, and Vice President Al Gore, the Democratic Party nominee for President, endorsed Rush.[1] Then-State Representative Tom Dart supported Obama and organized on his behalf in the 19th ward.[10]
Obama raised enough money to remain competitive with Rush.[1][9] However, he neither connected with the working-class African Americans of the district nor provided a convincing reason for them to vote against Rush.[1] Obama later wrote: "Less than halfway into the campaign, I knew in my bones that I was going to lose. Each morning from that point forward I awoke with a vague sense of dread, realizing that I would have to spend the day smiling and shaking hands and pretending that everything was going according to plan."[11]
Results
Primary elections
Rush defeated Obama in the primary election, held on March 21, 2000, by a 2-to-1 margin. Wardingley won the Republican Party nomination.[12]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Bobby Rush | 59,599 | 61.03 | ||
Democratic | Barack Obama | 29,649 | 30.36 | ||
Democratic | Donne Trotter | 6,915 | 7.08 | ||
Democratic | George Roby | 1,501 | 1.54 | ||
Majority | 29,950 | 30.66 | |||
Total votes | 97,664 | 100 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Raymond Wardingley | 2,721 | 100 |
General election
Rush defeated Wardingley in the general election.[13]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Bobby Rush | 172,271 | 87.81 | ||
Republican | Raymond Wardingley | 23,915 | 12.19 | ||
Majority | 148,356 | 75.62 | |||
Democratic hold |
Aftermath
Obama later said about his loss to Rush "I got my rear end handed to me"
In 2004, Obama was the keynote speaker at the
See also
Bibliography
- Remnick, David (2010). ISBN 978-1-4000-4360-6.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Scott, Janny (September 9, 2007). "In 2000, a Streetwise Veteran Schooled a Bold Young Obama". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 10, 2008. Retrieved January 7, 2009.
- ISBN 1-56802-849-0.
- ISBN 1-56802-981-0.
- ^ a b c "Campaign Briefing". The New York Times. March 21, 2000. Archived from the original on May 30, 2012. Retrieved March 15, 2012.
- ^ Fusco, Chris (October 24, 2000). "Underdogs look for upset wins". Chicago Sun-Times. p. 18. Retrieved July 12, 2012. (subscription required)
- ^ Kleine, Ted (March 17, 2000). "Is Bobby Rush in trouble?". Chicago Reader. Archived from the original on September 14, 2008. Retrieved July 26, 2008.
- ^ a b c d McClelland, Edward (February 12, 2007). "How Obama learned to be a natural". Salon.com. Archived from the original on April 16, 2008. Retrieved January 7, 2009.
- ^ Remnick, David (November 17, 2008). "The Joshua Generation: Race and the campaign of Barack Obama". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on October 17, 2013. Retrieved January 7, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e Wills, Christopher (October 24, 2007). "Obama learned from failed Congress run". USA Today. Archived from the original on May 28, 2010. Retrieved January 7, 2009.
- ISBN 9780738577227.
- ISBN 0-307-23769-9.
- ^ a b c "Ballots cast: Primary Election - 3/21/2000". Illinois State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on April 6, 2015. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
- ^ a b "Ballots cast: GENERAL ELECTION - 11/7/2000". Illinois State Board of Elections. Archived from the original on April 6, 2015. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
- ^ Bernstein, David (June 2007). "The Speech". Chicago Magazine. Archived from the original on June 14, 2008. Retrieved April 13, 2008.
- ^ "Star Power. Showtime: Some are on the rise; others have long been fixtures in the firmament. A galaxy of bright Democratic lights". Newsweek. August 2, 2004. pp. 48–51. Archived from the original on December 18, 2008. Retrieved November 15, 2008.
- ^ Pearson, Rick; Long, Ray (February 10, 2007). "Obama: I'm running for president". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on August 13, 2007. Retrieved September 20, 2008.
- ^ "Obama Launches Presidential Bid". BBC News Online. February 10, 2007. Archived from the original on February 2, 2008. Retrieved January 14, 2008.
- ^ Nagourney, Adam; Zeleny, Jeff (June 5, 2008). "Clinton to End Bid and Endorse Obama". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 11, 2011. Retrieved November 20, 2010.
- ^ "Obama wins historic US election". BBC News Online. November 5, 2008. Archived from the original on December 25, 2008. Retrieved November 5, 2008.