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Illinois' 17th congressional district elections, 2012
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| November 6, 2012 |
| March 20, 2012 |
Cheri Bustos  |
Bobby Schilling  |
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Contents |
Democrat Cheri Bustos won the election.[1]
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Primary: Illinois has a mixed-hybrid primary system. Voters can change parties each year but must declare a party affiliation at the polls. Depending on which party is chosen, the voter will then be counted as registered for that party. Voters may change party affiliation at polls or caucus.
Voter registration: Voters had to register to vote in the primary by February 21. For the general election, the voter registration deadline was October 9. A "grace period" is also available, allowing voter registration until three days before an election.[2][3]
- See also: Illinois elections, 2012
Incumbent: Heading into the election the incumbent was Bobby Schilling (R), who was first elected in 2010. Candidates wishing to run were required to file by the signature filing deadline of December 27, 2011. The primary elections were held on March 20, 2012.
This was the first election using new district maps based on 2010 Census data. Illinois' 17th congressional district covers much of western Illinois and includes the counties of Winnebago, Stephenson, Jo Davies, Carroll, Whiteside, Henry, Rock Island, Knox, Warren, Mercer, Henderson, Fulton counties, and parts of Tazewell and Peoria counties.[4]
Candidates
Note: Election results were added on election night as races were called. Vote totals will be added when official election results are certified. For more information about Ballotpedia's election coverage plan, click here. If you find any errors in this list, please email: Geoff Pallay.
General election candidates
March 20, 2012 primary results
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Election Results
General Election
| U.S. House, Illinois, District 17 General Election, 2012 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Cheri Bustos |
53.3% | 153,519 | |
| Republican | Bobby Schilling Incumbent | 46.7% | 134,623 | |
| Independent | Eric Reyes | 0% | 10 | |
| Total Votes | 288,152 | |||
| Source: Illinois Board of Elections "2012 General Election Official Vote Totals" | ||||
Democratic Primary
| U.S. House, Illinois' 17th Congressional District Democratic Primary Democratic Primary, 2012 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
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Cheri Bustos |
54.4% | 18,652 |
| George Gaulrapp | 25.8% | 8,838 |
| Greg Aguilar | 19.8% | 6,798 |
| Total Votes | 34,288 | |
Race background
Competitiveness
Illinois' 17th was considered to be Leaning Democratic according to the New York Times race ratings. Republican incumbent Bobby Schilling won a huge upset in 2010 and then was drawn into an even tougher district in 2012. He faced Cheri Bustos in the general election.[13]
Illinois' 17th District had been included in the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's "Red to Blue List," which identified districts that the organization had specifically targeted to flip from Republican to Democratic control.[14]
Incumbent Bobby Schilling was a part of the National Republican Congressional Committee's Patriot Program, a program to help House Republicans stay on offense and increase their majority in 2012.[15]
Using the Federal Election Commission's October Quarterly campaign finance filings, the Brennan Center for Justice at The New York University School of Law published a report on October 22nd focusing on the 25 House races rated most competitive by The Cook Political Report, including the race for Illinois'17th. The report examined the relative spending presence of non-candidate groups, candidates, and small donors in these races - "which will likely determine which party will control the House." [16]
| List of 25 Toss Up Races from the Cook Political Report:[17] | |||
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Impact of redistricting
- See also: Redistricting in Illinois
With the 2011 redistricting, Illinois lost 1 of its current 19 House seats because the state's population failed to grow as fast as in other states.[18] Illinois has had 11 Republican congressmen and 8 Democrats since the November 2010 election.[18] The new map, designed by the dominant Democrats, could flip that advantage to as many as 12 Democrats and only six Republicans.[18]
The new 17th district is composed of the following percentages of voters of the old congressional districts.[19][20]
- 6 percent from the 14th congressional district
- 29 percent from the 16th congressional district
- 47 percent from the 17th congressional district
- 19 percent from the 18th congressional district
District partisanship
FairVote's Monopoly Politics 2012 study
- See also: FairVote's Monopoly Politics 2012
In 2012, FairVote did a study on partisanship in the congressional districts, giving each a percentage ranking (D/R) based on the new 2012 maps and comparing that to the old 2010 maps. Illinois' 17th District became more Democratic because of redistricting.[21]
- 2012: 57D / 43R
- 2010: 53D / 47R
Cook Political Report's PVI
In 2012, Cook Political Report released its updated figures on the Partisan Voter Index, which measures each congressional district's partisanship relative to the rest of the country. Illinois' 17th congressional district has a PVI of D+6, which is the 135th most Democratic district in the country. In 2008, this district was won by Barack Obama (D), 61-39 percent over John McCain (R). In 2004, John Kerry (D) won the district 54-46 percent over George W. Bush (R).[22]
Campaign donors
2012
| Cheri Bustos (2012)[23] Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| Pre-Primary[24] | March 8, 2012 | $279,899.35 | $301,482.95 | $(82,560.08) | $498,822.22 | ||||
| April Quarterly[25] | April 13, 2012 | $498,822.22 | $124,746.99 | $(153,758.27) | $469,810.94 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $426,229.94 | $(236,318.35) | ||||||||
According to a July 11, 2012 press release, Bustos raised $470,000 in the second quarter.[26]
| Bobby Schilling (2012)[27] Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
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| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| Pre-Primary[28] | March 8, 2012 | $612,022.97 | $95,185.00 | $(47,710.16) | $659,497.81 | ||||
| April Quarterly[29] | April 15, 2012 | $659,497.81 | $218,689.77 | $(64,886.36) | $823,300.72 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $313,874.77 | $(112,596.52) | ||||||||
District history
2010
On November 2, 2010, Bobby Schilling won election to the United States House of Representatives. He defeated Phil Hare (D) and Roger K. Davis (G) in the general election.[30]
| U.S. House of Representatives, Illinois' 17th Congressional District, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Robert T. Schilling |
52.6% | 104,583 | |
| Democratic | Phil Hare | 43% | 85,454 | |
| Green | Roger K. Davis | 4.5% | 8,861 | |
| Total Votes | 198,898 | |||
See also
- United States House of Representatives elections in Illinois, 2012
- United States House of Representatives elections, 2012
External links
- Campaign finance at OpenSecrets.org
References
- ↑ Politico "2012 Election Map, Illinois"
- ↑ Illinois Board of Elections "2012 Election Calendar," Accessed July 21, 2012
- ↑ Illinois Board of Elections "Registering to Vote in Illinois," Accessed July 21, 2012
- ↑ Illinois Redistricting Map "Map" Accessed July 24, 2012
- ↑ Quad-City Times "Augustana official joins 17th District race" Accessed December 15, 2011
- ↑ ABC News 7 "Election Results Primary 2012" Accessed March 20, 2012
- ↑ Quad-City Times "Illinois’ 17th District field taking shape" Accessed December 15, 2011
- ↑ WIFR.com "Freeport Mayor Announces Run for Congress" Accessed December 15, 2011
- ↑ Quad-City Times "Hare rules out another run for Congress" Accessed December 15, 2011
- ↑ Quad-City Times "RI attorney announces congressional run" Accessed December 15, 2011
- ↑ WIFR.com "Gaulrapp and Reyes Still in the Congressional Race" Accessed March 15, 2012
- ↑ Eric Reyes for Congress "STATEMENT OF ERIC REYES ON ANSWERING THE CALL OF VOTERS FOR AN INDEPENDENT CANDIDATE" Accessed March 15, 2012
- ↑ New York Times "House Race Ratings," Accessed August 7, 2012
- ↑ DCCC, "Red to Blue 2012"
- ↑ NRCC "Patriot Program 2012"
- ↑ Brennan Center for Justice, "Election Spending 2012: 25 Toss-Up House Races," October 22, 2012
- ↑ The Cook Political Report, "House: Race Ratings", updated October 18, 2012
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 Chicago Tribune "Odd geography in new Illinois congressional map:Millions of constituents will find their representative has changed" Accessed February 22, 2012
- ↑ Moonshadow Mobile's CensusViewer "Illinois' congressional districts 2001-2011 comparison"
- ↑ Labels & Lists "VoterMapping software voter counts"
- ↑ "2011 Redistricting and 2012 Elections in Illinois," September 2012
- ↑ Cook Political Report "Partisan Voting Index Districts of the 113th Congress: 2004 & 2008" Accessed October 2012
- ↑ FEC Reports "Cheri Bustos Summary Reports" Accessed July 13, 2012
- ↑ FEC Reports "Pre-Primary" Accessed July 13, 2012
- ↑ FEC Reports "April Quarterly" Accessed July 13, 2012
- ↑ Cheri Bustos for Congress "Cheri Bustos Posts Record Quarter, Tops $470,000 as Grassroots Support Grows" Accessed July 13, 2012
- ↑ FEC Reports "Bobby Schilling Summary Reports" Accessed July 14, 2012
- ↑ FEC Reports "Pre-Primary" Accessed July 13, 2012
- ↑ FEC Reports "April Quarterly" Accessed July 13, 2012
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010"
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