With the recent decision of Republican Ray LaHood of Illinois not to seek re-election in 2008, Democrats hoped to put up a strong challenge for this open seat. With a PVI of R+5.5, such a district would require an especially strong challenger in order to overcome the area's Republican lean. The DCCC hoped that man would be state Senator John Sullivan, who sought the Democratic nomination in the neighboring 17th district against Phil Hare in 2006 after Rep. Lane Evans' retirement.
According to CQ Politics, after weeks of decision-making, Sullivan has decided to seek re-election for his state Senate seat instead:
Sullivan will instead seek re-election next year to the Illinois Senate, where he has held a seat since 2003. He noted in a statement that he serves in that body as chairman of the Agriculture & Conservation Committee and as Majority Caucus Whip.“I can better serve my constituents in a leadership position as one of 59 state senators than as a freshman in the U.S. House with its 435 members,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan would have been a serious candidate for the seat, even though his state Senate district does not take in the 18th District’s population centers in and around Peoria and Springfield.
Clearly a setback for the DCCC, who would like to put as many Republican seats in play as possible. From my observation, Sullivan was seen as the most obvious choice for this fight in a district where the Democratic bench isn't as well-stocked as in other areas of Illinois. Could another hero emerge?
some talk about a young State Rep, who represented a district near Peoria, and represented around 1/5 of the district.
It seems like House Republicans have been recruiting all kinds of candidates to take on Democrats, but Democrats keep getting turned down(ie Tinkleberg, Duckworth, and now Sullivan.
I know we all tend to look at state and local officeholders when hoping for someone to run as Democratic Congressional candidates, but don’t rule out the possibility of private citizens jumping into the fray too. If downstate Illinois is still anything like it was when I grew up there (35 miles from Peoria), voters are very open to such candidates. Look no further than Lane Evans for an example. He was just some young attorney with a struggling practice when he first ran for a seat that was Republican (and became an open seat because of the loss of the incumbent in his primary). That race was not considered in the beginning to be a pick-up prospect for the Democrats. Other Illinois races were. But by the fall of the election, Evans was looking very good. And those other Illinois races stayed Republican. Instead of always looking for a good politician to run, stay open to a good candidate – including private citizens.