DE Since 1916
Daily Egyptian
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2014 VOLUME 98 ISSUE 124
Seeing Red:
2 014 M i dte r m Elect io n
Rauner declares victory in Illinois governor race Chicago Tribune
Republican challenger Bruce Rauner claimed victory Tuesday night in the Illinois governor race as voters ended a dozen years of one-party Democratic rule following a vicious campaign that set records for campaign fundraising. “This is your victory,” Rauner told supporters. “This is a victory for every family in Illinois. This election is about bringing back our great state.” Rauner had 51 percent to 46 percent for Gov. Pat Quinn, with 94 percent of precincts reporting, according to unofficial totals from The Associated Press early Wednesday. Libertarian Party candidate Chad Grimm had 3 percent. Kim Harris, a retired SIU professor from Carbondale said he was unhappy with the Republican and Democratic candidates and voted libertarian as a form of protest. “I am disgusted with both of the candidates and my vote was a protest vote,” Harris said. His
son Isaac, who turned 18 in October and voted for the first time, said negative opinions he heard about both candidates affected his decision. Quinn rolled up a big margin in Chicago, scoring more than three-quarters of the vote. But Rauner kept it close in suburban Cook County, trailing Quinn by 6 percentage points. In the suburban collar counties, Rauner held wide margins of 15 percentage points or more. Rauner also held leads in most Downstate counties. Those figures came with a caveat: Not all of the early ballots cast in Chicago and suburban Cook were included in the totals election authorities were reporting earlier Tuesday evening. Quinn refused to concede defeat. “I don’t believe in throwing in the towel when there are that many votes still to be counted,” Quinn said. Central to Quinn’s strategy was his party’s national push to raise the minimum wage, an idea
that’s overwhelmingly popular with a public weary of stagnant pay for most workers but staunchly opposed by business interests who argue that higher wages would hamper job growth. Samantha Woodside, a senior from Detroit studying healthcare management said one reason she voted was because she will soon be graduating and entering the workforce. “I have a lot of friends who, of course, are not college educated and do work minimum wage jobs and I think just to benefit them is mainly why I voted,” she said. Corinne Arnold, a freshman from Chicago studying fashion design said minimum wage was the key factor in her decision to vote. “As a college student, raising the minimum wage would drastically help me financially and give me a better chance to survive on my own,” she said. Please see GOVERNOR · 2
Republicans gain in Senate and House
David Lightman McClatchy Washington Bureau
Republicans seized control of the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, riding a wave of discontent with President Barack Obama to majority power in both houses of Congress for the final two years of his presidency. Republicans won Democratic-held Senate seats in Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Montana, North Carolina, South Dakota and West Virginia, assuring them of majority control of the Senate for the first time since January 2007. They also held their majority control of the House of Representatives and looked to add as many as a dozen seats, which would swell their ranks to a level Republicans haven’t achieved since 1949. The results vividly demonstrated how constituents were frustrated with government, notably Obama, and most saw the country heading in the wrong direction. Democratic efforts to offset the Republican momentum with gains of their own failed. In Kentucky, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell easily beat Democratic Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes. The Democrats had hopes for a Republican seat in Georgia, but Michelle Nunn fell to Republican businessman David Perdue. And in Kansas, Democrats appeared to be counting on Greg Orman, running as an independent against Sen. Pat Roberts, a Republican. Vice President Joe Biden earlier Tuesday called Orman “an independent who will be with us in the state of Kansas.” It wasn’t enough. Roberts held the seat. Democrats did hold New Hampshire, where Sen. Jeanne Shaheen turned back a strong challenge from former Sen. Scott Brown. And they stopped the Republicans, at least for now, in Louisiana. Since no one got a majority, Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu will face Republican Rep. Bill Cassidy in a runoff next month. But the night belonged to the Republican Party, thanks to a favorable electoral map and a president with dismal approval ratings. McConnell, speaking to supporters, was both defiant and conciliatory. “Tonight, Kentuckians said we can do better as a nation,” McConnell said in his victory speech in Louisville. “Tonight, they said we can have real change in Washington. Real change, and that’s just what I intend to deliver.” Democrats were defending 21 Senate seats to the Republicans’ 15. Seven of the Democratic seats were in states that went for Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney in 2012 against Obama, including Arkansas, Montana, South Dakota and West Virginia. “This is probably the worst possible group of states for Democrats since Dwight Eisenhower,” Obama said Tuesday on WNPR in Connecticut. In House races, two Democratic incumbents fell: Rep. Nick Rahall of West Virginia and Rep. Joe Garcia of Florida. Rahall, first elected to the House in 1976, was the victim of a GOP surge in a state that’s trended increasingly Republican.
L ewis M arien D aiLy e gyptian Mike Bost, a Republican from Murphysboro, speaks to supporters Tuesday during a watch party at the Murphysboro Elk Lodge. Bost won the Illinois
Bost to represent Illinois’ 12th Congressional District Jack Robinson
@Willjackrob | Daily Egyptian
With 100 percent of precincts reported, the 12th Illinois Congressional District will have a Republican representative for the the first time since 1993. State Rep. Mike Bost, will take the seat in Washington, marking an end to the 21year Democratic reign in the U.S. House of Representatives. Bost’s lead stood at 11 percentage points and he won by a margin of more than 22,000 votes. The incumbent U.S. Rep. Bill Enyart is the runner-up and independent Paula Bradshaw rounded out the election. Bost declined to speak with the media after his victory speech. Bost vowed to improve agriculture and energy independence, create a more efficient healthcare system and limit government spending, according to his website. “Money doesn’t grow on trees but those in Washington often think it does. For too long, legislators went to Washington with a focus of how
much to spend instead of what to cut,” according to his website. “Because of that mindset, federal spending is out-of-control with growing deficits that place the burden on future generations.” Bost, of Murphysboro, represented the 115th District in the Illinois General Assembly since 1995. Bost is a graduate of Murphysboro High School and served in the U.S. Marine Corps until 1982, when he received an honorable discharge. Bost attended the University of Illinois Certified Firefighter II Academy, then worked as a firefighter for the Murphysboro Fire Department after his service in the Marines. He started his career in public policy as a write-in candidate for Jackson County Board and won. He served as a Trustee for Murphysboro Township and also was the Murphysboro City Treasurer for one term. After he served as trustee, Bost grew tired of Illinois politics and wanted to step in and make changes himself. Bost ran for state representative in the 115th District in 1994 and has held the office since. Terri Bryant won the
2014 election over challenger Bill Kilquist to fill Bost’s seat in the Illinois General Assembly. Bradshaw represented the Green Party. Bradshaw ran in 2012 against Enyart and Republican Jason Plummer only to receive 5.6 percent of the vote. Her platforms included job creation and reducing climate change effects. Enyart, of Tuscola, has served in Congress since 2013, after he left his job as Adjutant General for the Illinois National Guard. Before Enyart served in the U.S. Air Force but left active duty in 1975 to pursue his degree in political science and journalism at SIUEdwardsville. After working for the Belleville News-Democrat, Enyart enrolled in the SIU School of Law, then started his own practice before taking the job as Adjutant General. Enyart conceded the race during a press conference at 10:05 p.m. Tuesday at the Bel-Air Bowl in Belleville. He declined to speak to the media after his concession speech.